Anna’s: Ecommerce Experience
Like most small businesses during COVID, when the announcements of restrictions, shutdowns and appointment-only shopping hours were released, a state of urgency to “get online” kicked our team into full gear! Knowing we could only get a web store up so quickly, we reacted by first offering phone-in and online orders from any and all channels - with customers shopping every corner of our store through categorized Facebook albums with captions showcasing every item and price that we could (Yes, we were a little bit crazy haha); when it comes to operating a garden centre there are critical months that are depended on for sales so we did what we had to do to keep inventory moving, to keep staff hired, and to realistically keep the business afloat.
This is where shopannas.ca came to be, giving customers the opportunity to now shop from the comfort of their homes for many of our products, shipping Canada-wide and offering local pickup in Kingsville. With some of the inventory photos being sourced from our vendors - every plant, planter, and seasonal accent has to be captured in-house by our team. Houseplant and patio pot photo shoots are a regular part of my work week and I kind of love it as they are pretty great models to work with!
Our digital team is always trying to think of different ways to up-level our online experience by playing with Anna’s reward offerings, fundraiser partnerships and the suggested items area of our store. As the seasons change, so do our stories that live on our blog and website - giving our visitors a new experience each week. Something that we hope they look forward to browsing when visiting!
Each season our team also hosts workshops - the opportunity for our community to join us in getting our hands in the dirt or getting a little crafty! With the introduction of the online store we’re now able to process payment online and have offered digital workshops across Canada- something our customer really appreciated when they weren’t allowed to gather during COVID.
Shopify/Digital Team: Brock Aldersley & Nivedita Dutta
