How The Beer Bat Scored 115% Revenue Growth with BigCommerce

Background

Sam McGee, President of Green Egg Design and a professor at the University of Hartford, watched the Hartford Yard Goats play and noticed something: thirsty fans. In 2018 he pitched a bat-shaped souvenir cup to the team’s owner, and the first batch sold out immediately. As orders poured in from 27 minor league teams and then Major League, international clubs and retailers, he realized he needed an e-commerce platform that could handle rapid expansion without slowing him down.

Challenge

The Beer Bat’s initial success exposed limitations in Shopify and WooCommerce. Custom development slowed rollout, and neither platform offered easy B2B tools or global storefront management. McGee needed a system that supported wholesale partnerships, retail customers, and international payment and currency options—all from one dashboard. He also wanted on-the-go access to orders, analytics and discounts without calling a developer every time.

Solution

After evaluating Salesforce Commerce Cloud and BigCommerce, McGee chose the latter for its realistic roadmap and human support. BigCommerce’s native B2B features were enhanced by B2B Edition, automating orders for over 325 wholesale customers and building custom pricing and shipping quotes in seconds. Next, McGee launched a direct-to-consumer storefront using the same platform—no extra installs required. With the BigCommerce mobile app, he could view real-time analytics, create discount codes on the fly, and track orders from his smartphone. Finally, Multi-Storefront enabled him to clone the same polished experience across regions without juggling multiple sites or payment gateways.

Results

• Orders increased by 71% between April and July 2022
• Revenue surged 115% with no added headcount
• Site visits jumped 98% as global storefronts rolled out

By relying on BigCommerce’s out-of-the-box tools and vetted integrations, The Beer Bat scaled from a single minor league team to hundreds of clients worldwide, managing wholesale and retail channels seamlessly under one roof. “If you want to be big with a small footprint, the best way is BigCommerce,” says McGee.