How CRKT’s Category Page Redesign Drove a 92 Percent Lift in Revenue

For many ecommerce brands, category pages are the highest-impact yet most under-optimized part of the site. They attract high-intent traffic, influence product discovery, and shape the buying journey long before a shopper reaches a product detail page.

This was exactly the opportunity Forix identified when working with Columbia River Knife and Tool Company, better known as CRKT. By rethinking how category pages functioned on Magento, Forix helped CRKT unlock significant and sustained revenue growth.

What if your highest-traffic pages were also your highest-converting? See how Forix’s Design services help Magento merchants unlock category page revenue through UX and design.

About CRKT

Founded in 1994, CRKT is one of the leading manufacturers of knives and multitools in the United States. Known for innovation, craftsmanship, and collaborations with world-class knife designers, CRKT serves outdoorsmen, professionals, and everyday carry enthusiasts nationwide.

CRKT partnered with Forix in 2016 to improve their online shopping experience and better showcase the creativity and expertise behind their products. The goal was not only to modernize the site, but to build a scalable ecommerce experience that could support long-term growth on Magento.

The Challenge: Missed Growth Opportunities in the Category Experience

CRKT knew their existing site was not delivering the performance it should. Despite strong brand recognition and product demand, key pages were underperforming.

The main challenges included:

• Category pages that did not highlight CRKT’s designers and innovation
  
• Limited support for browsing and comparison across a growing catalog
  
• An experience that did not fully guide users toward confident purchase decisions
  
• Missed opportunities to increase average order value and transactions
  

CRKT needed a partner who could look beyond surface-level design changes and focus on optimizations that would directly impact revenue.

The Strategy: Prioritizing Optimization by Revenue Impact

Forix approached the project with a CRO-first mindset, similar to the framework outlined in our ecommerce CRO services approach. Rather than redesigning everything at once, Forix worked closely with CRKT’s creative team to prioritize improvements based on their potential impact on transactions.

Key strategic principles included:

• Treating category pages as decision-making tools, not static listings
  
• Using design to tell the story behind CRKT’s knife makers and products
  
• Reducing friction in product discovery and navigation
  
• Leveraging Magento’s flexibility to support richer content without sacrificing performance
  

This ensured every enhancement served a clear business goal.

The Solution: A Category Page Redesign Built for Conversion

The new category page experience focused on clarity, storytelling, and usability.

Large, high-quality imagery brought CRKT’s products and designers to the forefront. Shoppers could immediately see the craftsmanship behind each knife, creating a stronger emotional connection to the brand.

Improved layouts made it easier to browse, compare, and explore products across categories. Clear visual hierarchy helped users scan options quickly, while supporting deeper engagement for those who wanted more detail.

As part of an ongoing optimization effort, Forix continued refining the experience through performance improvements, UX enhancements, and conversion-focused updates. Magento’s robust architecture allowed these enhancements to scale as CRKT’s catalog and traffic grew.

The Results: Sustained Ecommerce Growth on Magento

The impact of the category page redesign was significant and long-lasting. Following the launch and continued optimization, CRKT achieved:

• 25 percent increase in average order value
  
• 51 percent increase in transactions
  
• 92 percent increase in revenue
  

These results reinforced a critical insight. When category pages are designed with intent and optimized over time, they can become one of the strongest revenue drivers in an ecommerce ecosystem.

What Magento Merchants Can Learn from CRKT

CRKT’s success highlights an important lesson for Magento brands. Growth does not always come from adding new features or channels. Often, the biggest gains come from improving how customers browse and make decisions.

Category page optimization is one of the highest-leverage opportunities for ecommerce teams, especially for brands with complex catalogs or strong storytelling potential.

Conclusion

CRKT’s transformation shows what is possible when design, strategy, and CRO work together. By treating category pages as conversion-focused experiences, Forix helped CRKT unlock measurable growth and build a stronger foundation for the future.

Forix helps Magento merchants identify and implement category page improvements that drive real business results. If your store is not performing at its full potential, the opportunity may be closer than you think. To learn how your Magento category pages can drive higher revenue, connect with the Forix team today.