A Local Gift Shop to Global Omnichannel Sales: Silver in the City's Growth Strategy

Silver in the City, owned by Kristin Kohn, is a boutique specializing in unique and whimsical gifts. The boutique strives to offer customers an exclusive gifting experience — where they can offer their loved ones thoughtful gifts from a local shop. From jewelry to houseware items, you will certainly find the ideal gift for any occasion. Silver in the City has 2 charming locations in Indiana and an online store. 

Silver in the City flagship store in Indianapolis (US)

Silver in the City is very community-oriented. They actively collaborate with other small businesses in their neighborhood, supporting one another and growing the community. As a way of giving back, they’ve created the Silver Linings Fund, which Kristin mentions is one of the things she is most proud of. They contribute 1% of all sales to this fund, which works towards creating equal opportunities for BIPOC communities.

Ecwid by Lightspeed provides Silver in the City with its ecommerce solution that allows them to share their unique story and sell their products locally and globally online. 

The Silver in the City team

Let’s dive into their ecommerce journey.

How Has Silver in the City Benefited From Ecwid?

The team shared with us some of the Ecwid tools they’ve implemented in their store and found the most valuable for their business.

Stronger Online Presence With Integrated Sales Channels 

 The biggest feature for me when I began using Ecwid was the built-in interaction through the sales channels. Kristin Kohn, Owner of Silver in the City

With Ecwid, Silver in the City easily promotes its store across different sales channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and Google. This helps to introduce their brand and products to new audiences.

Without these integrations, their marketing costs would rise pretty high, and it would be difficult to keep track of them all. However, with Ecwid, marketing initiatives can be executed directly from the platform, and the results are displayed on the dashboard.

Recovered 10% of Ecommerce Revenue With Automated Abandoned Cart Emails

10%

of total ecommerce revenue recovered in the last 30 days alone.

Recent studies show that the average cart abandonment rate is 70%. That means 70 out of 100 customers will add a product to their carts but then leave your website without completing the purchase. 

Sending reminders about their abandoned purchases is a powerful incentive for them to finalize their transactions. 

Ecwid detects abandoned carts for you and sends automatic reminders so you can recover that sale.

A customer abandonment email automatically sent to a customer who left items in their cart

The implementation of automated abandoned cart recovery emails has proven to be beneficial for Silver in the City. 

Continuous Revenue With Pre-Orders

Silver in the City utilizes pre-orders for pre-made gift boxes and sold-out items in their store. Pre-orders are beneficial to build excitement for products that are soon to be launched or temporarily out-of-stock.

 The pre-order feature has helped our store make continuous revenue and sales. 

Silver in the City sells a wide selection of pre-made and customizable gift boxes in their boutique for special occasions like the holidays. People tend to shop early for the holidays, so having this product live in advance allows customers to secure their purchase before exploring other options. Customers can simply select their preferred arrival date and have it arrive right before the holidays. 

Pre-orders also recently came in handy for one of their clothing items. During a local morning show, the host wore one of the hats sold at their boutique. This resulted in a surge of purchases, causing this particular hat to go out of stock. Luckily, they quickly activated the pre-order feature, and orders continued to flow, ensuring no revenue was lost during this period.

Modernized Store With an Intuitive Website Builder 

Ecwid includes an enhanced website builder featuring a range of themes and designs for users to select. Silver in the City recently revamped its website using the new Instant Site functionalities, giving it a whole new appearance. The redesign not only modernized the look but has also improved user-friendliness, making navigation more intuitive. Check it out below.

Silver in the City’s eye-catching storefront on Ecwid

 The website builder is great. I love to choose what happens when visitors click on another area or a specific page. Our website looks newer and more modern now. At first, we were hesitant to push our site live, as it just seemed too easy. 

Ecwid comes filled with new features for personalized and targeted email marketing through popular apps like MailChimp. 

Silver in the City leverages email marketing to engage with their customers and elevate their overall experience. They utilize Mailchimp to distribute promo codes and shared a feature they found particularly advantageous with us. 

When sending promo codes through Mailchimp, customers can effortlessly apply them to their shopping carts with a simple click, saving time and boosting the likelihood of usage. “It takes a lot off the people’s plates,” says Kristin.

Promo code sent through MailChimp

Tailored User Experience With Flexible Shipping Options 

 Ecwid has many shipping features that benefit our business and its values. Many of our customers are part of our local community, and it is very easy to cater to them. 

Serving both local and out-of-state customers, Silver in the City takes advantage of Ecwid’s flexible shipping options. 

With Ecwid, you can offer customers who live in closer proximity a lower shipping cost, while customers situated farther away are presented with a higher but fair shipping fee. You can also provide a pickup option exclusively for local customers, as Silver in the City does.

Additionally, Silver in the City grants customers free shipping if their order exceeds $75, which is a great way to help conversion rates.

Flexible shipping options on Silver in the City’s checkout page

 We have the ability to set up custom rules for delivery and pickup based on the customer’s location. If they are within the radius, they can choose delivery or pick up, and their shipping cost will be lower due to the distance. This makes it easier to connect with our local customers and provide them with flexible shipping options. 

Example of a destination zone Silver in the City can set up to offer local customers specific shipping rates and pickup options

Result: Greater Sales with Ecwid

Silver in the City is now generating more sales through its online business, thanks to Ecwid. With Ecwid’s comprehensive suite of features, Silver in the City has unlocked new avenues for growth and customer engagement in the competitive online marketplace.