The problem

For years, the team at dear digital has helped Shopify merchants build exceptional e-commerce experiences, handling everything from themes to operational efficiency. But as their agency grew and client needs became more complex, they kept hitting the same wall: the technical complexity of Shopify integrations.

The challenge was huge in their local market. In the Benelux region, 90-95% of online purchases use payment methods that Shopify doesn’t natively support for subscriptions. This meant merchants who wanted to offer subscription services had to rely on external platforms like Firmhouse, but connecting those systems required more money and development work than was feasible.

These weren't just nice-to-have features — they were mission-critical integrations. For subscription-based merchants, the integration between Shopify and their payment platform determined whether orders could be processed.

"We were looking into solutions. Do we build this ourselves? Do we host this ourselves?" explained Michiel Vandewalle, reflecting on the early days of grappling with their integration challenges. The prospect of building everything from scratch didn’t make sense. It would mean managing hosting, scaling, authentication, logging, and all the infrastructure headaches that come with custom development. And clients didn’t want to pay for all of that.

The technical barrier was limiting dear digital's growth potential. Without a reliable way to build integrations quickly, they had to turn down projects because the time spent on infrastructure was unsustainable. They needed a solution that would let them focus on solving business problems rather than wrestling with technical overhead.

‍

The solution

When dear digital discovered Gadget, it was the combination of Gadget's built-in Shopify connection and managed infrastructure that drew them to the platform. After just a few minutes of playing around with the platform, they knew they had found the right solution.

"We actually had a way to build on top of the Shopify APIs," Michiel shared. "It was so easy to set up databases with Gadget, and we could finally get data out of Shopify and send it to the ERP."

Gadget's platform gave dear digital everything they needed out of the box: automatic Shopify data syncing, a managed database, comprehensive logging, and production-ready infrastructure. This meant they could jump straight into building the business logic that connected Shopify stores to subscription platforms, ERP systems, and other third-party tools.

"Gadget was the only platform that really matched our needs,” Michiel explained. “It had just the right balance between low code and no code, while always giving us the flexibility to build fully custom code when we wanted to."

This balance was crucial when building complex integrations with subscription platforms and ERPs like Odoo. Dear digital could leverage Gadget's built-in Shopify features for cart management while writing custom code to handle specific payment processing requirements. When it came to integrating with third-party tools, they could automatically sync order data from Shopify, then quickly customize it to match each client's unique system requirements.

Even collaboration became easier with Gadget. Because the platform provided everything the team could need in one browser tab, with Gadget's AI assistant built right into the interface, team members can quickly understand any project without wasting time getting up to speed.

If they preferred to work in their own IDEs, they could sync everything with a simple CLI command. Gadget’s auto-generated documentation, complete with contextual information about data models and API endpoints gave them instant access to all the context they needed. 

“You have everything you need,” Michiel said. “All the APIs, connections, tools… you don’t even need to install packages. Everything is just there in the platform.”

‍

The results

What started as a solution to a specific technical challenge has become the foundation for a thriving integration practice that delivers massive value to clients.

• €12.5 million in client revenue processed through a single Gadget integration in just 6 months
• 100% revenue for subscription-based clients is handled by Gadget integrations
• 20+ projects built and deployed across their client base
• 2-week delivery for complex integrations that previously took months
• €100,000+ weekly revenue flowing through multiple client integrations

‍

Massive impact on client revenue

The most striking result has been the sheer scale of revenue flowing through dear digital's Gadget-powered integrations. One client alone has processed over €12.5 million in revenue in just 6 months – with every dollar flowing through the integration built on Gadget.

"100% of their revenue was handled by our Gadget integration," Michiel explained. "You do the payments in Shopify, and Gadget makes sure that orders are placed in the ERP system. If Gadget wasn't there, it would never be delivered."

This isn't an isolated case. dear digital reports that several clients process over €100,000 in revenue each week through their Gadget integrations, with 90-95% of their total sales depending on Gadget’s critical middleware solutions.

‍

Dramatic acceleration in development speed

With Gadget cutting out so much of the setup and maintenance, dear digital can build integrations in a fraction of the time, and at a fraction of the cost. But the real advantage goes beyond speed — it's about potential. “When you can build at this speed, you start to consider projects you never would have done," Michiel said. "If it weren't for Gadget, these tools would probably never see the light of day because it's not cost-efficient to build them."

Projects that would have taken months to build from scratch, the team can now get complex integrations up and running in less than two weeks. This speed allows them to serve clients in a way that would have been financially unviable with traditional development approaches.

‍

Enhanced developer experience and confidence

One of the most significant impacts has been on dear digital's team capabilities and confidence. Gadget's comprehensive platform has eliminated many of the technical barriers that previously limited their project scope. Many of the problems they used to worry about are things they don’t even have to consider with Gadget.

"We never need to think about where to host this, how to scale this, how to monitor this" Michiel explained. "That is what Gadget is really for us – this platform that gives us so much power to build without ever having to start from scratch."

Knowing that everything they build will be able to handle any growth has had a huge impact on client relationships. "It has been so reliable for us that we always look for new ways to use Gadget," Michiel noted. "We have so much confidence in the tool. It gives us peace of mind as developers knowing whatever we build, it will work in the end. We know we can always count on Gadget."

‍

Expanded service offerings and growth

With more than 20 projects built on Gadget, dear digital has transformed from a traditional Shopify agency into full-service integration specialists. They've expanded beyond simple middleware to building:

• Subscription platform integrations that enable recurring commerce with local payment methods
• ERP system connections that automate order processing and fulfillment
• Shopify UI extensions for enhanced storefront experiences
• POS extensions for unified retail operations

The team is now building a customizable connector between Shopify and Odoo ERP systems, with plans to expand their client base to include other agencies — a business opportunity that would have been impossible without Gadget.

‍

Operational excellence

The logging and monitoring capabilities have transformed dear digital's client support operations. "It gives us all of the insights that we need and we're able to resolve issues more quickly," Michiel said. Instead of struggling to debug issues across multiple systems, they can quickly identify and resolve problems using Gadget's built-in tools. 

For dear digital, Gadget is more than an IDE — it serves as a partner in their success. As Michiel explains: “You’re always ready to start developing, and that's something I love about it. As soon as you have an idea, Gadget is there to build it with you.”

‍

About the agency

dear digital is a Shopify Plus agency based in Belgium, specializing in e-commerce solutions for the Benelux region. They offer both Shopify development services and Odoo ERP implementation, making them uniquely positioned to build comprehensive integration solutions for merchants who need to connect their e-commerce operations with their business systems.

‍