How Vin Chicago Unified Commerce on Shopify to Cut Costs and Boost Sales

The Challenge

Vin Chicago was operating on four or five separate tools for point of sale, e-commerce, inventory and credit card processing. Staff across three Chicago locations and an online shop spent hours syncing stock data by hand and troubleshooting mismatches. Customers who clicked through from the company’s rich email storytelling often landed on a limited order form, unable to browse the full catalog. That friction meant lost sales and mounting frustration for both shoppers and staff.

Choosing a Single Platform

The leadership team wanted one system that would handle in-store checkout, back office, online orders, customer profiles, and payments. They evaluated several vendors and realized Shopify Plus with Shopify POS, Shop Pay and Shopify Payments could tie it all together. To execute fast, they partnered with ICEE Social and mapped a phased rollout with inventory first, then customer data, then a revamped email order form connected to the full catalog.

Implementation in Under Three Months

With under 90 days before the holiday season, Vin Chicago’s team moved carefully. They imported SKU-level stock counts, set up a unified back office, and enabled staff to fulfill from any store via Shopify POS. Customer purchase histories synced across channels so reps could recommend wines based on past orders. ICEE Social built a lightweight custom order page for email features that feeds into Shopify’s checkout, so everyone sees the same prices and inventory.

Results and Impact

Just weeks after launch, the retailer sailed through its busiest season. Cyber Monday sales jumped 20% year over year. Unified Shopify Payments trimmed 30 basis points off processing fees, almost covering the entire subscription cost. Consolidating five systems to one Shopify plan cut software spend by a projected 20%. Staff time once spent on tech support or manual updates now goes to crafting emails and upselling in person.

Looking Ahead

Vin Chicago is already exploring loyalty tiers and advanced reporting in Shopify Plus. With a single platform firmly in place, the team can focus on growth: deeper wine education content, expanded B2B wine clubs, and more efficient fulfillment. The brand’s century-old tradition now runs on a modern commerce engine that supports new ideas at scale.