How See's Candies Nails the Retail Experience (and you can, too)

Is the retail experience a thing of the past as more and more shoppers purchase via their mobile phones and tablets and only visit retailers to scope out what they’ll eventually buy online? I don’t think so and as an example want to share what one retailer is doing to keep their stores as vital places of actual commerce.

I helped my aunt with her recent move and while we were sorting through things we discovered 2 gift certificates, each for a pound of chocolates, for See’s Candies. She offered them to me and I accepted.

On August 23 my family and I visited their store in South San Francisco, which is attached to a factory. As soon as you walk near the door you can already smell chocolate in the air.

As we entered the immaculately clean little black and white shop we were warmly greeted by a woman I later learned was named Karen. My young children were delighted to see so much chocolate and candy displayed attractively all around them.

Karen quickly offered us some free samples. I mentioned my daughter’s nut and egg allergy. She said that it would be best to have a lollypop since they were sure to be safe. We appreciated the alternative offer.

I explained to Karen that I had these one pound gift certificates and started looking at the various boxes of chocolates on the shelves. She told me that they were worth $18 each and could be used towards anything in the store. I was happy to know that as I thought they were just for one pound boxes. She went on to say that I could custom create my own box by handpicking chocolates from their display case and that would be $18. Hmm, now that was a sweet idea.

After browsing the shelves for a few minutes I decided that I should create my own box. I’d never done that before and it sounded fun. Karen met me at the display case and we started from the right side and worked our way across the entire selection. All along the way she recommended certain creations telling me they were very popular or her personal favorites.

After making our way across the regular chocolates we landed at the truffles. I still had some room left in my box and asked (already knowing the answer) if the truffles could be chosen, too. Karen said with a smile that I could choose any or all of the truffles for my box at the same price. What a wonderful surprise.

It seemed that no matter what your desire the answer was yes.

I picked a few truffles and completed my special assortment. It turned out that I was a little over one pound (wonder if I’d only gain one after finishing this awesome array of confections) and would need to pay a buck more. I was happy to do it.

As Karen sealed my box, she let us know that new creations would soon be arriving and we should hurry back. And, the root beer lollypops were only for the summer and we should pick some up now if we liked them.

I thanked Karen for her wonderful assistance, which was a joyous experience and left. We were all pleased with our visit and I’m still enjoying my special one of a kind box of See’s Candies.

Here are the lessons from this story for retailers afraid that online shops are ruining their business. Follow them and nail the retail experience as See’s Candies does.

1. Warmly greet all customers in a way that makes them feel welcome. Do anything you can to not make it a perfunctory greeting.
2. Immediately delight the guest with a no-obligation gift.
3. Consider each person’s individual and exclusive needs.
4. Inform the guest of their many options for enjoying their visit to your store.
5. Do everything you can to avoid saying, “No.”
6. Make the purchasing experience a partnership for the best result.
7. Be helpful in making recommendations for additional purchases as well as return visits.
8. Keep your store so clean people would notice.
9. Hire the nicest people you can find.
10. Have a motto that runs through all you do. See’s Candies’ motto is “Quality Without Compromise."

I felt each one of these during my visit to See's Candies and that's what made it special and something I can't imagine being easily replicated online.

A little history about See’s Candies: They have been in existence since 1921 and were purchased by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in 1972. They hail from California and have 200 shops in the US with plans to expand into the Midwest, East and South in the future.

What do you think can keep the retail experience alive and well in America? And what are other examples of awesome retail experiences from your life?