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Optimizing Your UX With The Upscale Shopify Theme

June 21, 2024
Written and researched by experts at AvadaLearn more about our methodology

By Sam Nguyen

CEO Avada Commerce

Upscale is more than just a pretty design; it’s a powerful Shopify theme that can help you sell more. It’s carefully crafted to make the shopping experience smooth and enjoyable for your customers.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the Upscale Shopify theme and its. We’ll explore all its amazing features, the different ways you can customize it, and the many types of businesses it’s perfect for.

Avada’s Verdict
Pros:
  • Premium design
  • 5 preset options
  • A variety of sections 
  • Excellent support staff
  • Various customization options
  • Multilingual support
  • Mobile responsiveness
Cons:
  • A higher price point
  • No live support
  • Lack of useful features such as quick buy, back-to-top button
Rating: 5.0/5⭐
Best For
Businesses with international reach; High-volume stores; Luxury and boutique retailers

Upscale Shopify Theme: An Overview

Upscale Shopify Theme: An Overview

The Upscale Shopify theme is a top-notch theme with amazing features and flexibility that creates an exceptional experience for both you and your customers. It’s got a modern, sophisticated design that screams luxury and style, making it perfect for upscale retail businesses.

One of the things that sets this theme apart is its user-friendliness. All of its features make it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for and have a great shopping experience on your site.

Shopify Upscale Theme: 7 Key Features and Benefits

Let’s take a closer look at the Upscale Shopify theme’s key features and the benefits they offer. These are the things that make it stand out from the crowd and make it a top choice for many online businesses.

Enhanced search

First off, the Upscale theme has a smart search function. Just type in a few letters, and it’ll show you relevant results with all the details and even thumbnails. You can also use filters with different categories to narrow down your search even further.

This is particularly crucial if your store has a large product catalog.

Enhanced search Shopify upscale theme

How this feature can be helpful for Shopify merchants:

  • Increased Sales: When customers can easily find the products they want, they are more likely to add them to their cart and complete the purchase.
  • Increased Customer Satisfaction: A positive search experience makes customers feel valued and understood, leading to higher satisfaction and increased loyalty to your brand.

In-menu promos

I’ve used Upscale myself, and its mega menu is a real game-changer. With multiple columns, you can organize products, categories, and anything else in a way that looks great and is easy to navigate.

One thing I love is that you can put promotions right in the main menu. This means customers see your offers and deals the second they land on your site, grabbing their attention and making them more likely to check out those products or discounts.

In-menu promos shopify upscale theme

How this feature can be helpful for Shopify merchants

  • More Visibility for Promotions: When you put banners or featured products right on the menu, everyone sees them. This can really boost clicks and get more people to check out specific products or landing pages.
  • Enhanced User Engagement: Customers can easily discover new products, ongoing sales, or featured collections without leaving the menu, increasing their time on your site and the likelihood of purchase.

Product badges

Upscale product badges are like little attention-grabbers for your products. They highlight key features like “New Arrival,” “Sale,” or even “Limited Stock,” giving customers important info at a glance. You can even show the exact number of sales or add multiple badges to a product.

Product badges shopify upscale theme

How this feature can be helpful for Shopify merchants

  • Attention-grabbing: Product badges instantly draw customers’ attention to specific products, making them stand out in a crowded catalog. This can lead to increased clicks, views, and ultimately, sales.
  • Boosting Conversions: By highlighting the most appealing aspects of a product, badges can create a sense of urgency and trust, influence purchasing decisions, and improve conversion rates.

Quick view

Another thing I really like about Upscale is the Quick View feature. This lets customers see product details without leaving the page they’re on, so they don’t have to click back and forth. It’s a small thing, but it makes a big difference in the shopping experience.

Customers can quickly check out the info, compare products, and decide if they want to add something to their cart.

Quick view shopify upscale theme

How this feature can be helpful for Shopify merchants

  • Increased Engagement: By providing a quick and convenient way to view product information, Quick View encourages customers to explore more products, increasing their engagement with your store.
  • Improved Conversion Rates: With a seamless preview experience, customers can make faster and more informed purchasing decisions, leading to higher conversion rates.

Image zoom

High-quality visuals are essential for online stores, especially when customers want to see products up close. With the Upscale theme, you can upload high-resolution images to your product pages and even let customers zoom in for a closer look. This lets them examine the quality, texture, and details of your products, giving them the confidence they need to make a purchase.

Image zoom shopify upscale theme

How this feature can be helpful for Shopify merchants

  • Reduced Returns: By providing a clearer view of the product, image zoom can help manage customer expectations. This reduces the chances of returns due to misunderstandings about product details or quality.
  • Increased Sales: When customers can examine products in detail, they feel more confident in their purchase decisions, leading to higher conversion rates and increased sales.

Multiple Language Translation

The Upscale Shopify theme supports six different languages: English, Italian, German, Spanish, French, and Brazilian Portuguese. This makes it a great choice for businesses looking to expand globally and reach customers who speak different languages.

If you’re planning to enter new markets, the Upscale theme’s multilingual feature is especially valuable. You can easily adapt your content and products to specific regions like Europe and Brazil, opening up new opportunities for growth and increasing your potential for sales.

Multiple Language Translation shopify upscale theme

How this feature can be helpful for Shopify merchants:

  • Increasing Conversions: Removing language barriers can lead to higher conversion rates as customers feel more comfortable browsing and purchasing products in their preferred language.
  • Boosting SEO: Translating your store’s content can improve your search engine visibility in different regions and languages, leading to increased organic traffic.

Customizable contact form

I’ve seen how the contact page in the Upscale theme can be a real asset. It’s already built-in, and you can easily customize it to gather the specific information you need from customers. When the contact form is well-designed and easy to use, customers can reach out with questions, requests, or feedback without any hassle.

This kind of personalized and efficient communication helps you build stronger relationships with your customers and respond to them quickly, building trust and making them feel valued.

Customizable contact form Shopify upscale theme

How this feature can be helpful for Shopify merchants

  • Easy Communication: A well-designed contact form makes it simple for customers to reach out with questions, concerns, or feedback. This improves customer service and helps build trust.
  • Lead Generation: By collecting customer information through the contact form, you can generate leads for future marketing efforts and build your email list.

Shopify Upscale Theme Pricing

The Upscale Shopify theme costs $350 for a one-time purchase. This includes all the built-in features, all 5 preset templates, and any future updates from the developer.

You can try out the theme and customize it for free for an unlimited time. You only need to pay when you’re ready to publish your store with the Upscale theme.

User Experience and Feedback

Shopify upscale theme User Experience and Feedback

I checked out the reviews on the Shopify Theme Store, and 100% of users are raving about the Upscale theme! They really appreciate how helpful the support team is, how many features come built-in, and how good the design is. They also love all the ways they can customize it to fit their brand.

While not being widely used, the 100% positive reviews and glowing feedback show that the Upscale theme is a top choice for online businesses. It’s clear that they’re committed to providing a great experience for their users, and the theme’s quality and user-friendliness really shine through.

Shopify Upscale Theme’s 5 Unique Presets

Besides its abundant built-in features, the option for presets is also a plus point of the Upscal Shopify theme. It contains five presets with different vibes, each of which carries its own unique name.

Gem

The Gem preset exudes an air of elegance and minimalism. Its design incorporates a full-width banner, a basic color set, classic typography, and a well-structured layout for each separate part. This preset is ideal for stores aiming to convey a sense of simplicity while still being polished.

Shopify Upscale Theme Gem preset

The Gem preset enhances the store’s visual appeal by creating a high-quality and opulent ambiance. It sets the stage for visualization and a premium shopping experience, making it perfect for fashion and apparel products.

Silk

Silk thoroughly offers a soft and refined design aesthetic. Its color palette often includes pastel shades and delicate typography. The preset has emphasized a center-align layout with a two-sided margin, incorporating enough space between each section to make the overall design harmonious.

Shopify Upscale Theme Silk preset

This preset creates a soothing and gentle shopping environment, making it suitable for stores that focus on wellness, beauty products, or handmade crafts. The Silk preset enhances the store’s visual appeal by evoking feelings of comfort and tranquility, encouraging customers to explore and engage with a sense of calm.

Onyx

Onyx is a preset that exudes modernity and a minimalist design. It often combines bold typography with the arrangement of rounded-shaped blocks. This preset is perfect for stores with a contemporary, cutting-edge brand image.

Shopify Upscale Theme Onyx preset

Onyx enhances the store’s visual appeal by creating a clean and uncluttered shopping experience that focuses on product functionality and efficiency. It is an ideal choice for tech gadgets, modern apparel, or minimalist home goods.

Clay

The Clay preset embodies a narrative vibe. It does not slideshow at the hero banner; it is just a collage of a couple of images to showcase a store’s core value. It often includes a pair of opposing colors and rustic typography.

Shopify Upscale Theme Clay preset

This preset provides a cozy and inviting atmosphere with many sections to showcase their brand and product’s story. Thus, it’s well-suited for stores seeking a visual storytelling site, as it invites customers to explore and connect with the authenticity of the brand.

Amber

The Amber preset in the Upscale Shopify theme indeed exudes a bright and vibrant vibe, with an emphasis on the cheerful atmosphere. It typically features a color palette in sync with the gradient color of the hero banner and classic font pairings.

Shopify Upscale Theme Amber preset

The synchronized colors and uncluttered layout in the Amber preset work together to create a visually appealing and cohesive shopping environment, making it an excellent choice for stores aiming to connect with customers through a positive and lovely aesthetic.

Upscale Shopify Theme’s Customization Options 

To give you a closer look at the theme’s customization, we are giving you some specific illustrations. Here are several typical elements that almost all users have to walk through:

Mega menu

Upscale Shopify Theme’s Customization Options mega menu

In the Upscale Shopify theme editor, you can enable mega menus in the header settings. 

  • To enable mega menus, go to the left sidebar of your screen and activate the feature. 
  • Specify the label of the 1st level menu item you want to support in the mega menu. 
  • You can include multiple labels
  • If you wish to incorporate images within your navigation, you can add an “image” block under the “Header” section. These images can be associated with menu items from the 1st or 2nd levels, depending on where you want them to appear. Keep in mind that while you can add multiple image blocks, each second-level menu item can only support one image.

Email popup

Upscale Shopify Theme’s Customization Options email popup
  • To collect email addresses, you can add the “Email form” block in the main sidebar.
  • If you need to display text without an email form, simply add the “Text” block instead, keeping in mind that only one block can be added at a time. 
  • To switch between block types, you must first delete the existing one.

Additionally, the theme provides an option to display a newsletter icon in the header, giving users easy access to the sign-up form popup. 

To enable this feature, you should navigate to the popup settings and activate the corresponding checkbox.

Hero section (Slideshow)

Upscale Shopify Theme’s Customization Options Hero section (Slideshow)

To create a Hero banner (slideshow) in the Upscale Shopify theme, customize the layout in the setting sidebar on the right for larger displays. 

The section’s appearance and content are fully customizable through the settings sidebar. To populate your section with content, add blocks in the left sidebar. Multiple blocks generate slides by default, but you can use a single block if you prefer a static section. Customize each block’s content using their individual setting sidebar, typically on the right side for larger screens.

Activating the image offset feature adds dynamism to your layout while also intensifying the image’s prominence and generating a significant visual impact.

How to add Shopify Upscale Theme to Your Store

To harness this premium theme, an initial payment is required before you can publish it. However, the theme generously offers an unrestricted free trial period, which should be fully leveraged to thoroughly explore its functionalities and ensure it aligns with your requirements.

Here’s how to get started: 

  • Visit the Shopify website and log in to your store’s admin panel using your credentials. 
  • Once in your Shopify admin dashboard, navigate to “Online Store” within the admin menu. 
  • In the “Online Store” section, select “Themes.” 
  • To explore and potentially acquire premium themes, click “Visit Theme Store.” You can locate the Upscale theme in the Shopify Theme Store by typing “Upscale” into the search bar. 
  • Once you’ve found it, click “Try theme,” which will transport you to the Shopify admin dashboard. 
  • Here, you can personalize your theme and delve into its features to assess its suitability for your needs. When you are content with your customizations and the theme itself, you can proceed to publish it, making it live on your store.

Who Should Use Upscale Shopify Theme?

As long as you utilize the Upscale Shopify theme’s core strengths, it can work well with any industry or niche, especially for fashion, electronics, furniture, handmade crafts, etc.

Particularly, it is best suited for:

  • A store requiring a refined and polished look
  • Merchants seeking a tool to scale their businesses
  • Brands express their storytelling by visualizing
  • Businesses with international reach
  • High-volume stores
  • Luxury and boutique retailers
  • Small to large businesses

Where to Buy the Upscale Shopify Theme?

You can approach the Upscale Shopify theme through two different routes:

  • Visit the Shopify Theme Store directly, either through the website or your admin dashboard. Just initiate a search for “Upscale” to locate it and initiate testing.
  • Alternatively, you can head to the developer’s website, Loess.co. On this site, the Upscale theme is prominently featured in the top header. Click on “Upscale theme,” and you’ll be seamlessly redirected to the theme’s dedicated page within the Shopify theme store.

3 Successful Stores Used The Upscale Shopify Theme

VanZus

VanZus, the concept store specializing in products for babies, children, and parents, provides a comprehensive shopping experience for moms and babies with diverse needs. To ensure the wide array of product line offerings is presented effectively and attractively to their customers, VanZus leverages the Upscale Shopify theme.

Successful Stores Used The Upscale Shopify Theme vanzus

The modern aesthetics and elegant beige-tone templates offered by the theme enhance VanZus’ online presence and somehow reflect the product quality, aligning well with the expectations of parents who appreciate up-to-date design. The theme has previously showcased the most featured products, collections, and inspired promo campaigns, along with a clean layout and classic font, creating a sleek vibe for the store.

The clear category arrangement and intuitive interface of the theme provide a straightforward and efficient online shopping process that is appropriate for the target audiences, who are parents and busy with their work or have less experience shopping online.

Palmex Boutique

Palmex Boutique is a captivating online destination for those seeking exotic-looking synthetic exterior coverings, especially synthetic palm leaves, to transform their traditional tropical roofing.

Successful Stores Used The Upscale Shopify Theme palmex boutique

The Upscale Shopify theme’s modern and stylish design elements seamlessly harmonize with Palmex Boutique’s commitment to eco-friendliness and tropical aesthetics. The basic color palette with green accents creates an ambiance that resonates with the eco-conscious values of the store while enhancing the tropical vibe.

The theme has successfully generated multiple sections for the business to display their journey through visualization. Each collection or banner expresses the core values and enthusiasm of the business for the environment and society and their products’ relevance to the market nowadays.

Eight Ounce Coffee

Eight Ounce Coffee is an e-commerce store focused on coffee-related products and equipment. They serve coffee enthusiasts and those looking to elevate their coffee-brewing experience with high-quality coffee products and accessories.

Successful Stores Used The Upscale Shopify Theme Eight Ounce Coffee

The visually appealing templates create a classic aesthetic that aligns seamlessly with the world of coffee and coffee connoisseurs through a retro color tone and box layout. The theme imparts a sophisticated and visually cohesive ambiance, which resonates with the quality and uniqueness of the products offered by Eight Ounce Coffee.

Notably, the theme’s main navigation and mega menu are absolutely an upside point, assisting stores in managing a vast array of product categories and creating an easy way for customers to navigate. The checking-out process is also smooth and straightforward, enhancing the user experience.

Bottom Line

The Upscale Shopify theme is a worthwhile investment, a powerful tool for businesses wanting to create an amazing online presence and grow their brand.

Whether you’re just starting out or already have an established business, the Upscale theme can help you elevate your online store. It’s designed with growth in mind so you can stay ahead of the curve in the ever-changing world of online retail.

FAQs

Customer support for the Upscale theme typically includes documentation, tutorials, and resources provided by the theme developer, Loess.inc. Additionally, you can reach out to submit a ticket to the theme developer's support for further questions and specific assistance.

Depending on your business's needs, there are various Shopify apps and plugins that can complement the Upscale theme. These may include SEO tools, email marketing integrations, and social media add-ons.

The Upscale theme's versatility and enriching features make it suitable for both single-product stores and larger catalogs. Its customization options allow you to create a unique online storefront tailored to your specific business needs. Maybe in the future, if your business intends to scale up, the theme can also handle it effectively.


Sam Nguyen is the CEO and founder of Avada Commerce, an e-commerce solution provider headquartered in Singapore. He is an expert on the Shopify e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. Sam loves talking about e-commerce and he aims to help over a million online businesses grow and thrive.