How Kamakura Beniya Boosted Online Sales by 120% with Shopify Plus

Background

Kamakura Beniya is a family-run confectionery maker based in Kamakura, Japan. Established in 1954, the brand built its reputation on handcrafted walnut cookies named "Kurumikko". For decades the company focused on retail stores, but recent shifts in consumer behavior highlighted the need to strengthen its digital presence.

The Challenge

Outdated Online Platform

Their legacy platform struggled under high traffic, leading to crashes when popular items restocked or featured in media. Customers often encountered errors, lost orders, and missing opportunities. Such downtime not only cost sales but also harmed new customer perceptions and brand reputation.

Lack of Advanced Features

Key functions like a lottery sale for limited items, a customer portal, and gift services were either impossible or too expensive to implement on the old cart system. Fraudulent resales and high development costs blocked efforts to ensure fair access and personalized experiences.

Solution: Shopify Plus Migration

In January 2023 Kamakura Beniya moved to Shopify Plus, driven by the need for robust servers, global security standards, and a wide app ecosystem. The team worked closely with development partners, mapping data flows and cleansing legacy records to ensure a smooth transition without major downtime.

They also integrated Shopify’s warehouse management linkage, introduced an e-gift module, and activated a lottery sale feature. With these modules, the site could handle sudden peaks in demand, maintain fast response times, and offer a clear path for customers to buy limited products.

They added a "My Page" dashboard, enabling customers to view order history, manage addresses, and track gift vouchers. This improved customer satisfaction and reduced support tickets.

Project Execution

The project team restructured online responsibilities under the president’s office, hired a dedicated ecommerce developer, and prioritized clear goals. A phased data migration plan ran parallel to live operations, with steps to cleanse member and order data. Regular sprint reviews kept the project on track and allowed quick issue resolution.

Results

Within ten months, the brand saw online sales grow by 120%, visitor numbers jump 190%, and payment-related complaints fall over 90%. Uptime improved dramatically, repeat visits increased, and marketing data on customer behavior became accessible for targeted campaigns.

Next Steps

Looking ahead, Kamakura Beniya plans to unify online and in-store data, expand overseas via Shopify’s cross-border features, and explore AI-driven improvements to help older customers navigate the site more easily. A new factory due in 2025 will further support increased demand and international orders.