How Woodland Hills Wine Company Increased Online Sales by 82% with BigCommerce

Introduction

Woodland Hills Wine Company, a family-owned specialist in rare and collector-grade wines, had long faced the twin headaches of software maintenance and PCI compliance. Their previous platforms demanded constant patches and custom hosting workarounds, diverting precious time away from what mattered most: curating exceptional bottles and delivering them securely to connoisseurs around the globe. Seeking a solution that married reliability with flexibility, they found BigCommerce.

Background

Founded in 1978 as Northridge Hills Liquor, the business pivoted fully toward fine wine in the early ’90s, forging relationships with prestigious vineyards across California. After a devastating earthquake leveled their original store in 1991, founder Paul Smith embraced nationwide shipping. By 1998 they rebranded as Woodland Hills Wine Company, quadrupling their footprint and expanding selections to include rare imports from France, Italy, and Germany.

Challenges

Despite flourishing offline, their digital storefront ran on legacy platforms—first a custom solution, then AspDotNetStorefront and Infinity by Intershop. Each upgrade felt like a fight: clunky APIs, endless security audits for PCI compliance, and a lack of dedicated support. They needed the “walled garden” of a SaaS product with robust customization options, but most hosted platforms lacked the sophistication to handle high-ticket transactions and collector expectations.

Solution

After evaluating Shopify Plus and Magento Enterprise, the team chose BigCommerce for its balance of managed infrastructure and open APIs. Their Solutions Architect, Patrick, orchestrated the migration: offloading server management and compliance to BigCommerce while retaining control through JavaScript, HTML, and RESTful endpoints. Custom payment applications and inventory workflows were developed in concert, ensuring every rare bottle could be held or charged on demand.

Results

Within a year, the company saw a 387% surge in organic search conversion rate and a 190% jump in organic search revenue, comparing July–September 2019 to the same period in 2020. Overall revenue climbed by 82%, demonstrating the ROI of a flexible, managed ecommerce platform. The team regained hundreds of hours previously spent on compliance audits, refocusing on customer delight and business growth.

Custom Integrations & Apps

Using BigCommerce’s REST API, they automated inventory and customer updates, shipment syncing, and even two-way gift card balances between online and in-store systems. Key apps like Mailchimp powered targeted campaigns, ShipperHQ handled complex shipping rules, and Elfsight delivered interactive widgets—all integrated seamlessly.

Conclusion

By selecting BigCommerce, Woodland Hills Wine Company transformed its digital operations without sacrificing control. The SaaS model eliminated infrastructure overhead, while open APIs and a rich app ecosystem enabled tailored features for the luxury wine market. Today, they continue to innovate, offering collectors a seamless, secure, and high-touch online buying experience.