Demandware Toasts the Launch of Sam’s Wines
CHICAGO – Demandware, developer of the only enterprise-class on-demand ecommerce platform, today announced that Sam’s Wines & Spirits has launched a new ecommerce Website powered by the Demandware eCommerce Platform. After identifying the Internet as its next high-growth channel, the Chicago-based wine and spirits retailer selected Demandware because of the platform’s flexibility, relatively low cost of entry, and ability to launch the new site — and future micro-sites — quickly.
The new site was designed and built by Lyons Consulting Group, a Demandware solution partner. Sam’s Wines & Spirit’s previous ecommerce site ran on a customized platform with limited opportunity for growth. Wanting to provide customers with a new, rich and engaging online shopping experience, Sam’s Wines got up and running on the Demandware Platform in a matter of a few months. The new site eases the strain on Sam’s internal staff, supports content and commerce together, and provides improved merchandising capabilities. For example, it allows Sam’s Wines to provide thousands of different wines that shoppers can browse by type, variety, country of origin, price, review, and even flavor summary or best food pairing options.
“After entering into partnership with Demandware and Lyons, we were able to get our new site up-and-running in five short months, which was very important because a significant portion of our annual sales happen during the holiday season,” said Merritt DeWitt, Director of Marketing at Sam’s Wines & Spirits. “Since the launch, we’ve more than doubled the number of unique products sold on the site in a month-to-month comparison to last year. Demandware also has enhanced our suggestive search capabilities to keep shoppers on the site and therefore spending more. Looking to the future, our new site enables us to take advantage of growth opportunities and allows us to compete head-on with nationally known online retailers that are getting into the business.”
In addition to providing shoppers with access to wine, beer, spirits and gourmet products, the new SamsWine.com has become a destination site that places an emphasis on education and community. New features include:
A video channel and an article library of original content about the world of wine, spirits and beers including recommendations about successfully pairing food and wine, growing the best grapes, and wine service, storage, and glassware.
Event listings featuring tastings at area restaurants, wine and food dinners, film screenings, outdoor concerts and more.
Reviews from professional wine critics and national publications such as Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, plus “Sam’s Score” by Sam’s own experts.
Gift registries for wine and food enthusiasts.
“We knew Demandware was a great fit for Sam’s Wines because of the platform’s robust merchandising capabilities,” said Rich Lyons, president of Lyons Consulting Group. “They needed a site that their team could change on a day-to-day basis, similar to changing the merchandising strategy in Sam’s Wines & Spirits stores. Demandware made it easy for their non-technical staff to do that.”
“Sam’s Wines & Spirits is growing fast and has embraced the potential of the online channel to provide exceptional products and service to its demanding customer base,” said Stephan Schambach, Demandware’s founder and Chairman. “As Sam’s Wines’ online sales grow, the Demandware Platform will grow along with it, always providing the most innovative features and functionality that will help Sam’s Wines stay ahead of its competition.”
LYONS CONSULTING GROUP
Lyons Consulting Group is a customer-focused IT services firm specializing in ERP/business intelligence, collaboration, and e-commerce solutions. Founded in 2003, LCG is based in Chicago but serves global and mid-market firms across North America and partners with Oracle, SAP, Microsoft and Demandware. For more information, visit www.lyonscg.com.
DEMANDWARE
Demandware drives the success of high-growth brands with the only enterprise-class On-Demand eCommerce Platform that empowers merchandising and marketing talent with total control over the shopping experience and continuous competitive differentiation. Leading brands such as Bare Escentuals, Barneys New York, House of Fraser, Jones Apparel Group, Playmobil and Timberland leverage Demandware’s enterprise class eCommerce functionality and automatic upgrades to help achieve higher conversion rates, increase average order size, and improve customer retention. Demandware is the only on-demand eCommerce solution that enables the rapid rollout of new sites, provides ubiquitous access to business and technical users, and is backed by a patented grid computing architecture that delivers capacity as needed for performance and reliability that exceeds industry standards. For more information about Demandware, visit www.demandware.com, call 888-553-9216 or email info@demandware.com.
