RMIT Student Life - Merch and Clubs
Industry
Education
Founded
1887
A Custom Shopify Platform for RMIT Student Life
One Store. Two Businesses. Full Control.
RMIT’s Student Life division delivers vibrant events, merchandise, and community experiences to thousands of students across multiple campuses. But their existing digital infrastructure couldn’t keep up with the operational complexity of managing multiple businesses under one roof.
Sonder Sites was brought in to reimagine the entire experience—from backend logic to frontend design—on Shopify Plus. The result? A fully custom ecommerce system with multi-tenant functionality that Shopify doesn’t natively support.
The Challenge
RMIT Student Life needed more than a standard online store. Their goals included:
Running two distinct businesses (merchandise & clubs) from one Shopify store
Ensuring clear separation of products,collections, customers, orders, and reporting per business unit
Creating a user-friendly backend that non-technical staff could manage confidently
Building a seamless admin experience, including a custom Workday > Shopify integration
Empowering staff with design, content control, and autonomy post-launch
And all of this had to align with RMIT’s accessibility, brand, and governance standards.
Our Solution
We architected a custom Shopify Plus environment with advanced backend logic that turns Shopify into a true multi-tenant system—something the platform doesn’t offer out of the box.
🔧 Multi-Tenant Functionality
Shopify, but smarter.
Separate admin dashboards, permissions, and product types for two distinct teams
Events and merchandise managed under different user roles
Scoped data visibility per business unit (orders, customers, products)
Operational clarity and compliance without needing multiple stores
💻 Shopify Plus Custom Storefront
Responsive, brand-aligned theme tailored for students and staff
Separate landing pages and shopping flows for Events and Merch
Dynamic product templates for tickets, merch, bundles, and access control
🔗 Custom Workday Integration
One of the most advanced Workday-to-Shopify integrations built to date.
Automated sync of HR and finance data to drive store operations
Custom workflows to control event access, employee discounts, and internal auditing
Reduced admin friction and eliminated double-handling
🎓 Empowerment Through Handover
We didn’t just build it—we upskilled the team.
Onsite and remote training sessions for staff
Custom documentation tailored to RMIT’s operations
Hand-off of CMS tools, templates, and workflows
100% of content and product updates now done internally
The Results
✅ True two-business capability from a single Shopify Plus instance
✅ Empowered teams with full autonomy over content, events, and products
✅ Frictionless Workday integration streamlining internal workflows
✅ User-friendly UX for students buying merch or attending events
✅ Zero reliance on developers post-launch for day-to-day operations
Why It Matters
This project pushes the boundaries of what Shopify can do. If you think Shopify can’t support complex internal teams, multiple business units, or enterprise workflows—think again.
We made it happen for RMIT Student Life. We can do it for you too.
A Custom Shopify Platform for RMIT Student Life
One Store. Two Businesses. Full Control.
RMIT’s Student Life division delivers vibrant events, merchandise, and community experiences to thousands of students across multiple campuses. But their existing digital infrastructure couldn’t keep up with the operational complexity of managing multiple businesses under one roof.
Sonder Sites was brought in to reimagine the entire experience—from backend logic to frontend design—on Shopify Plus. The result? A fully custom ecommerce system with multi-tenant functionality that Shopify doesn’t natively support.
The Challenge
RMIT Student Life needed more than a standard online store. Their goals included:
Running two distinct businesses (merchandise & clubs) from one Shopify store
Ensuring clear separation of products,collections, customers, orders, and reporting per business unit
Creating a user-friendly backend that non-technical staff could manage confidently
Building a seamless admin experience, including a custom Workday > Shopify integration
Empowering staff with design, content control, and autonomy post-launch
And all of this had to align with RMIT’s accessibility, brand, and governance standards.
Our Solution
We architected a custom Shopify Plus environment with advanced backend logic that turns Shopify into a true multi-tenant system—something the platform doesn’t offer out of the box.
🔧 Multi-Tenant Functionality
Shopify, but smarter.
Separate admin dashboards, permissions, and product types for two distinct teams
Events and merchandise managed under different user roles
Scoped data visibility per business unit (orders, customers, products)
Operational clarity and compliance without needing multiple stores
💻 Shopify Plus Custom Storefront
Responsive, brand-aligned theme tailored for students and staff
Separate landing pages and shopping flows for Events and Merch
Dynamic product templates for tickets, merch, bundles, and access control
🔗 Custom Workday Integration
One of the most advanced Workday-to-Shopify integrations built to date.
Automated sync of HR and finance data to drive store operations
Custom workflows to control event access, employee discounts, and internal auditing
Reduced admin friction and eliminated double-handling
🎓 Empowerment Through Handover
We didn’t just build it—we upskilled the team.
Onsite and remote training sessions for staff
Custom documentation tailored to RMIT’s operations
Hand-off of CMS tools, templates, and workflows
100% of content and product updates now done internally
The Results
✅ True two-business capability from a single Shopify Plus instance
✅ Empowered teams with full autonomy over content, events, and products
✅ Frictionless Workday integration streamlining internal workflows
✅ User-friendly UX for students buying merch or attending events
✅ Zero reliance on developers post-launch for day-to-day operations
Why It Matters
This project pushes the boundaries of what Shopify can do. If you think Shopify can’t support complex internal teams, multiple business units, or enterprise workflows—think again.
We made it happen for RMIT Student Life. We can do it for you too.
🧭 Strategy & Discovery
Stakeholder workshops and scope refinement
Custom Jira story mapping
Solution architecture for multi-business Shopify instance
🎨 UX & UI Design
Custom wireframes and Figma prototypes
Accessibility-first mobile design
Branded student experience for Events + Merch
💻 Custom Shopify Plus Build
Dual-business support inside a single store
Custom logic to separate orders, products, and users
Fully responsive, scalable Shopify theme
🔗 Workday Integration
Bi-directional sync between Workday and Shopify
Custom rules engine for operational logic
HR and finance data driving store access and automation
📦 CMS & Staff Empowerment
Editable content blocks, event templates, merch uploads
No-code tools tailored to non-technical users
Full knowledge base handoff
🚦 Testing, Launch, and Hypercare
QA across all user roles and checkout flows
Staff onboarding and UAT
Post-launch support and continuous improvement