2021 RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Gary ' s offers an eclectic array of foodstuff and other items, including gourmet cheeses.
Covid began, we very quickly hit over 35,000 downloads,” Michael says.“ Our online ordering went from generating 12 % of our business to 100 %, and we were ecommerce only for several months.”
Making the switch to an almost exclusively online business came with its own share of challenges.
In addition to transitioning while updating its ecommerce platform, Gary’ s had to identify new ways of meeting the needs of its customers. Customer service greatly changed when the stores were closed to the public. People could no longer come into the stores to shop, so they called and messaged the store much more than they previously had.
The company hired an offsite customer support system focused on bringing the same high level of customer service that the Gary ' s in-store experience is known for to online customers. To ensure every customer received a prompt response, the business introduced an online chat feature on its website, a customer support ticketing system to organize guest inquiries, and a new phone system that allowed for an offsite call center.
Throughout the pandemic, Gary ' s continued to invest heavily in its ecommerce experience. The company partnered with Onfleet to help manage delivery routing optimization for its local delivery vehicles, allowing customers to view where their delivery orders were in real time. In addition, Gary ' s hired a team of sommeliers to help maintain product content, host virtual wine tastings and provide wine recommendations to online customers.
Earlier this year, the company introduced Gary’ s Direct, a yearly subscription program modeled after Amazon Prime, allowing customers to receive unlimited free local delivery or national shipping for an annual fee. Gary ' s Direct members also receive deeper discounts on Gary ' s Direct items, as well as access to online wine classes.
Although all of Gary’ s stores have now reopened to the public, Gary’ s customers grew accustomed to its frictionless online shopping experience. This resulted in an elevated level of ecommerce sales to date, despite brick-and-mortar sales returning to pre-pandemic levels.
OTHER TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENTS Beyond changes to its ecommerce system, the Gary’ s team recently introduced new technologies and systems across other aspects of the business.
The company implemented Slack for internal messaging. Michael and Gary both believe that the speed of communication, both internally and externally, was key to navigating the rapidly changing environment. The company upgraded its email software from an on-premise Outlook server to cloud-based Microsoft O365, allowing team members to be more productive by taking advantage of the full suite of Microsoft products.
Gary’ s also invested in a Microsoft Azure data warehouse to centralize its POS data and allow for seamless integrations to custom apps, including Power BI for custom reporting, as well as a custom shelf talker tool.
“ Covid catalyzed the implementation and adoption of technology across our company,” Michael says.“ Technology and systems are now ingrained within our company, allowing us to attract and retain employees who are drawn to Gary’ s because of our commitment not just to wine and customer service, but also to technology, innovation and operational efficiency.”
Gary credits his son’ s innovation with not only helping the business survive, but ultimately thrive after an extremely challenging time.
16 Beverage Dynamics • 2021 Top 100 Issue www. beveragedynamics. com