eCommerce expansion

The Chocolate Box, run by Marion Adler-Bishop and her brother Gary Adler, started with their parents selling homemade chocolates in 1958. As demand increased, the Adlers began importing fine chocolate from Europe, and later developed partnerships with local manufacturers to create their own exclusive label. Today, the Chocolate Box name appears on eight stores across Melbourne.

To run the business as efficiently as possible the business realised it needed to keep up with new technology by incorporating an e-commerce enabled website and in-store merchant facilities. The challenge, in deciding which EFTPOS facility to use and which bank to choose, was to find a solution that allowed them to control costs.

As a member of the Gifts and Homewares Association, The Chocolate Box enjoys special discounted rates on its Commonwealth Bank merchant facility. The Chocolate Box now uses the Commonwealth Bank’s EFTPOS Lite terminals across its stores, designed for smaller businesses with online authorisation. It accepts all debit and credit cards, and processes mail and telephone orders.

“Very little cash changes hands in the stores these days,” says Adler-Bishop. “People use credit cards so they can track what they’ve bought. It’s been a huge plus because I used to be locked in the office for hours and hours counting cash. With credit card transactions, it goes straight in — it’s amazing.”

Since launching their e-commerce-enabled website three years ago, business through that channel alone is up 300%. “The website is a very exciting part of our business,” says Adler-Bishop. “The business comes from all over the world and we’re about to launch a brand new site.”

With a huge amount of credit card transactions going through the website, as well as through the stores, “if I want to use a credit card facility I need one that costs me the least,”Adler-Bishop explains. “We have a real appreciation for the development the Commonwealth Bank has put into credit card facilities. It’s a very efficient and clean way of doing things.”