Skip to main content

How CarBahn Tripled Growth by Migrating to Shopify

6/20/2024
CarBahn
Steve Dinan
CarBahn
www.carbahn.com
Walled Lake, United StatesFounded 1970
💰
Monthly Revenue
Undisclosed
👨‍💼
Founders
Steve Dinan
👥
Employees
52
🏢

Business Description

CarBahn specializes in high-performance BMW tuning and aftermarket parts, serving both DIY enthusiasts and dealer networks worldwide. Founded by Steve Dinan, the company blends engineering legacy with a streamlined online store, focusing on precision vehicle fitment, fast service, and a premium shopping experience.
📝

Executive Summary

CarBahn, a BMW aftermarket parts specialist, moved from WooCommerce to Shopify with Red Van, resolving technical debt and fragmented sites. Their 10-week migration delivered a faster, unified platform that saw traffic and orders triple, AOV rise by $200, and returns fall 43%.
📄

Case Study Content

Overview

CarBahn is a specialist in high-performance BMW aftermarket parts and custom tuning, serving both DIY builders and executive customers. To reach a wider audience, they built three separate sites on WooCommerce but soon ran into performance, security, and maintenance roadblocks that pulled them away from business strategy.

Challenges

Managing three domains meant competing with themselves for search traffic and doubling the work for every product update. The site relied on a patchwork of plugins, driving load times up to nine seconds. A full development team was needed just to add new products, while technical debt piled up and risked security flaws as they scaled.

Migration Approach

In partnership with Red Van, CarBahn planned a 10-week move to Shopify Plus. They consolidated all content into one domain, set up native SEO features, and used the Shopify app ecosystem for dealer locators and precise vehicle-fit filters. The team prioritized a fast build with built-in performance, security, and easy content management.

Solution Highlights

With Shopify’s built-in SEO, CarBahn no longer wrestles with H1 tags and metadata manually. They rolled out custom collections, enabling shoppers to filter parts by year, make, and model. Integration of Shop Pay and Shopify Inbox smoothed checkout and customer support. On the back end, the CMS now lets marketing update pages in minutes instead of days.

Results

Just 30 days after launch, organic traffic and order volume both tripled. The average order value jumped by more than $200, as customers found the right parts more easily. Load times dropped from nine seconds to one, boosting mobile engagement. Return and cancellation rates fell by 43%, reaching the lowest levels in company history.

Conclusion

By moving to Shopify Plus, CarBahn unlocked speed, unified their brand experience, and reclaimed time for innovation. Now they’re focused on growth—expanding B2B channels, adding new products, and serving performance fans worldwide through a site built for speed and scale.

💡

Key Takeaways

  • 1CarBahn overcame the limitations of their WooCommerce setup by migrating to Shopify in just 10 weeks, unlocking faster site performance and streamlined operations.
  • 2Consolidating three separate websites into one unified domain boosted search equity and cut down maintenance overhead, letting CarBahn focus on growth.
  • 3Implementing native Shopify SEO features enabled CarBahn to effortlessly manage tags and site structure, leading to a 3X surge in organic traffic within a month.
  • 4Advanced filtering and collection pages tailored to precise vehicle specs raised average order value by over $200 by helping customers find the right parts quickly.
  • 5Switching to Shop Pay and streamlined checkout options reduced drop-off in the cart, improved conversion rates, and delivered a 43% decrease in returns and cancellations.
  • 6The move to Shopify’s CMS slashed load times from nine seconds to one second, supporting mobile users and driving a 3X increase in order volume almost immediately.
📊

Key Facts

Organic Traffic Growth
3X
Order Count Growth
3X
Return Rate Reduction
43%
🛠️

Tools & Technologies Used

🔒

Premium Content Locked

Subscribe to access the tools and technologies used in this case study.

Subscribe Now
🚀

How to Replicate This Success

🔒

Premium Content Locked

Subscribe to access the step-by-step replication guide for this case study.

Subscribe Now
Share:
✍️

About the Author

Founders Hut Logo

Founders Hut

Founders Hut is a leading online platform dedicated to sharing thousands of in-depth business case studies from successful companies around the globe. Since its launch, Founders Hut has empowered entrepreneurs, marketers, and corporate innovators with actionable insights drawn from real-world successes and failures.

Interested in Being Featured?

Share your success story with our community of entrepreneurs.

Get Featured
Disclaimer: Some data in these case studies may be inaccurate or out of date. In certain cases, AI-generated content is used.