Sonoma wine, beer, spirits e-commerce firm VineSpring acquired by Commerce7
Wine direct-to-consumer sales platform Commerce7 said it has acquired VineSpring, a Sonoma-based maker of point-of-sale, subscription and e-commerce technology for wineries, breweries and distilleries.
In the deal, announced announced Monday, Vancouver, Canada-based Commerce7 picks up over 560 clients and customer support from VineSpring, which Chris Towt and Jamison Morrow started in 2011.
“This acquisition is great for existing clients and for the industry as a whole,” said Towt, CEO, in the news release. “Instead of building many of the same features, integrations and innovations separately, we now get to combine our strengths and align our visions to build the best beverage alcohol DTC platform possible. It’s a natural fit that will result in more capabilities our clients get to take advantage of, and an incredibly strong company that anyone selling beverage alcohol can depend on.”
Commerce7 plans to combine the VineSpring team with its own and move its customers to the platform over the summer.
“The wine and beverage alcohol industries as a whole will benefit from the sale of VineSpring to Commerce7. Together we are making it accessible for wineries to provide the best shopping experiences possible, regardless of channel,” stated Andrew Kamphuis, president of Commerce7.
Prior to the acquisition, Commerce7 said it had over 750 winery clients that were using its direct-to-consumer tools.
E-commerce became a key survival tool for wineries in California and elsewhere that operated under restrictions during the pandemic. After a big jump in such digital sales in 2020, those purchases settled down to a higher level than in 2019, according to Commerce7.
Just last year, vintners that started subscription-style clubs saw 48% of members sign up from their website, compared with 19.5% for traditional clubs, and club members made on average 4.17 orders before signing up for the club, according to the company’s 2021 “Databook,” released in January.
