Economy Candy, New York City’s oldest retail candy shop, has been serving customers since 1937. Originally starting as a shoe-and hat-repair shop in the early 1930s, the business turned into a full-fledged candy shop following the Great Depression, when candy sales outpaced repairs. Today, the shop sells over 2,000 different kinds of candy and is a treasured institution, even favored by Adele.
Nearly 100 years later, the business is now run by the family’s third-generation, Skye Greenfield Cohen and her husband. With two brick-and-mortar shops and an online store, the retailer stocks a massive inventory, famously claiming, “From Abba-Zaba to Zagnut, if they make it, we have it!”.
Running an omnichannel business means that Cohen must track a customer’s shopping journey and their habits across channels, so the business adopted Square in 2021 and implemented the WooCommerce integration shortly after.
Seamlessly integrating WooCommerce into daily operations
For the Economy Candy team, the integration initially piqued their interest as they looked for help personalizing service and streamlining orders. After years of use, the integration has been a significant help to the business. “In the 4 years we’ve been using the Square for WooCommerce integration, we’ve seen it grow and expand so much. We’re excited to see what features will come out next,” Cohen said.
A key feature of the integration for Economy Candy is customer syncing, which allows online orders to be connected to in-store transactions. The team simply clicks a Square link in the Order Notes section of a WooCommerce order, and the customer’s full transaction history, both in-store and online, is shown. Cohen described the feature in one word: “amazing.”
The top three operational benefits for Economy Candy
The ability to connect online and in-store transactions has significantly changed how Economy Candy operates. The syncing feature provides a fuller picture of their customers’ shopping habits. Seeing this broader picture allows the business to better tailor their offerings to meet its customers’ needs.
Some of the crucial benefits for Economy Candy include:
- Fraud mitigation: “It’s been amazing at combating fraud,” said Cohen. With a ‘risk alert’ that triggers potentially fraudulent transactions, the team is able to better serve legitimate customers and take a deeper look when necessary.
- Friction reduction: Being able to connect in-person and online transaction history helps the business identify true first-time customers and reduce friction with returning customers.
- Customer service: The biggest difference, according to Cohen, is the business’s approach to customer service. “Our customers are receiving better customer service now that our team is able to view their full transaction history,” she said.
A real-world example: Combating risk with customer history
Economy Candy experienced the fraud mitigation feature firsthand when the team received a large online order, triggering a risk alert. Without the syncing feature, the team might have canceled or heavily scrutinized the purchase. Instead, they quickly saw that, although it was the customer’s first online order, it came from a trusted party planner who had been shopping in-store for years.
The team also learned that the party planner had specifically placed the order online to save time based on the suggestion of a staff member during her last in-store visit. By leveraging the integration, the team was able to save the team and preserve the relationship with a trusted, loyal customer.
Prior to the new customer syncing feature, we couldn’t really trace a customer’s shopping journey or their habits. Seeing this broader picture allows us to better tailor our offerings to meet our customers’ needs”
Skye Greenfield Cohen → owner of Economy Candy
By integrating its point-of-sale and e-commerce platforms through Square, Economy Candy bridges the gap between its brick-and-mortar operations and its online store. The enhanced visibility into customer journeys allows the third-generation retailer to continue providing high-quality service and fulfill orders across multiple channels, successfully building on decades worth of customer relationships. Cohen summed up her thoughts on the integration saying, “Square and WooCommerce are getting better all the time.”
