Sur La Table gets the recipe right for reaching customers

Just as the addition of the right ingredient can elevate any dish, Sur La Table’s partnership with Amazon Today has expanded on what was already important: driving the best possible omnichannel experience for customers.

Amazon Today is an omnichannel program that enables same-day delivery and in-store pick-up for brands at the retail location; in addition, in-store inventory is showcased on the Amazon.com storefront, which often introduces new customers to the brand. That’s been the case for Sur La Table, which has experienced a 76% increase in first-time buyers on Amazon since the cookware, cutlery and dinnerware retailer began collaborating with Amazon Today in October 2022.

“We know our customers want and value great products,” said Sur La Table Vice President and General Manager of Ecommerce Rachel Frederick during a conversation with Courtney Butler, senior partner success manager with Amazon Today, on stage at NRF Nexus.

“They want the convenience. Service matters. And they actually want that relationship with our brand, so we’re always looking for ways to double down on that. We’re constantly looking for how we can reach them.”

It’s all part of a focus on creating a seamless order-to-delivery experience, a key element in customer service.

Sur La Table launched buy online, pickup in store services back in 2021. The effort helped make a variety of other store operations processes easier to launch, too, as the omnichannel strategy has continued to expand.

Frederick loves BOPIS: “I want people to go to my store,” she told Butler. “I want people to smell the kitchen, see the chefs in action, see the classes happening, talk to our store associates who know everything about the brands. And most likely, while they’re there to pick up their order, they’ll probably find something else that the want and need.”

But there’s also ship-from-store, which can be great for moving inventory when needed. And the addition of Amazon Today, which allows people not even searching for the Sur La Table brand to happen on a brand that Sur La Table sells. It will likely be price-matched, as well as eligible for delivery in a 25-mile radius. And Sur La Table has also recently launched its own same-day delivery within 25 miles for a small fee.

At Sur La Table, Frederick said, all the leaders are “very operationally focused.” But the store associates are also “very in tune with operationally what needs to happen to deliver something,” no matter what channel it comes through.

According to a study by GlobalData, 27% of ecommerce orders involved retail stores in 2015, Butler said. In 2023, that number jumped to 42%. The two channels continue to blend more and more, she said, and as it becomes increasingly efficient, it makes sense to leverage it.

Butler has been amazed at how nimble and adaptable Sur La Table has been able to be through the program. Sur La Table has also been able to take advantage of Amazon’s Prime Day as “almost like a preview of what our holiday could look like,” Frederick said. Deals are being tested, and she is curious to see what comes out of it.

Whenever items are fulfilled, Frederick said, the products are placed in a branded bag, “and I am always thinking about and testing that marketing collateral that’s going in the bag. I want to be sure that they know about us in their neighborhood, and that we are top of mind for anything culinary.”

In the meantime, she admits learning a few lessons along the way. First, it can be “kind of detrimental” to the business if associates are going off the floor to pick and pack something like a cherry pitter, which goes for about $10 and would move anyway. “It’s taking away from store sales,” she said. It’s important, then, to identify hurdles as quickly as possible.

In addition, she also thought she could handle the Amazon Today effort as part of her day-to-day role. “I was very mistaken. I was chasing inventory as soon as we went live,” Frederick said. “From a margin perspective, that’s not good.” Identifying a leader for this part of the business, she said, has been key — especially as it has grown to be a business all its own.