Introduction
A Century-Old Chocolatier Embraces eCommerce
For almost a century, Gertrude Hawk Chocolates has made handcrafted chocolates. The company operates over 50 stores across three states alongside thriving wholesale and fundraising businesses. In 2019, Gertrude Hawk saw an opportunity to modernize its eCommerce operations and reach more customers online.
The old Gertrude Hawk site was outdated and difficult to maintain. Partner eCommerce agency Weidenhammer stepped in to help guide the transition. Weidenhammer identified Magento 2 to be the best eCommerce solution for the job. The new site featured a fresh look and fully responsive design. It also streamlined shipping, payment, and tax through integrations with key partners like ShipperHQ.
Everything revolves around Easter. We need to take orders in January and February and begin shipping in March. That’s our most critical time of year.”Melanie NardozzoMarketing Director at Gertrude Hawk Chocolates
Challenges
Pandemic Closures Threaten Easter Sales
The new Magento 2 site launched in January 2020, and the timing proved fortunate. Just months after the site launched, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, forcing widespread retail closures during Gertrude Hawk’s most critical season. The challenge was clear: Pivot quickly or risk significant losses during Easter—their busiest time of year.
“Just when things were starting to ramp up, March brought sweeping retail closures and shelter-in-place orders as COVID-19 hit hard in the United States,” said Melanie Nardozzo, Marketing Director at Gertrude Hawk Chocolates. With a large majority of its stores inside shopping malls closed, the company had no choice but to close virtually all its stores at the worst possible time.
Despite launching a newly improved website with growing traffic, Gertrude Hawk Chocolates depends heavily on in-store purchases. “Our customers like to shop brick and mortar. And the week of Easter is when we do the bulk of our business. We started to get really nervous,” Nardozzo said.
Goal
Pivoting to eCommerce with Curbside Pickup
Gertrude Hawk knew they needed to adapt quickly to adjust to the changing market landscape or they wouldn’t hit their Easter sales goals — which drive a significant amount of business revenue. Their goal was to pivot to curbside pickup for the stores that remained open.
Nardozzo reached out to Weidenhammer to gauge the feasibility of curbside pickup. The Gertrude Hawk team needed any solution that could keep them open during their peak season, but worried it would be too late to implement a solution.
Solution
Fast and Easy Curbside Pickup Setup with ShipperHQ
Fortunately, the solution was easy and fast to implement. Weidenhammer knew immediately that ShipperHQ could make it work with its In-Store Pickup feature. Since Gertrude Hawk was already using ShipperHQ for their shipping rates and options at checkout, it was as simple as activating a new feature and setting up the locations.
“That’s the value of partners that have built solutions around a particular niche. They are able to get that up and running really quickly,” said Aaron Sheehan, Former Managing Director of Ecommerce at Weidenhammer. “We didn’t have to think about and figure out how to architect a solution. One was already built.”