The Week In Retail Issue 21

RETAIL

THE WEEK IN

SOFTWARE REVIEW

UNDER THE BONNET OF JISP

WE ROAD TEST THE ‘ALL IN ONE’ APP 6+ GATHERINGS BANNED EXTINCTION REBELLION CHARGES MENTHOL CIGARETTE INNOVATION PROFILE

WILSON CALLS TIME

BOOKER BOSS TO RETIRE IN FEBRUARY

+

STAYCATION TREND TO RUN INTO 2021 Commercial Partner:

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Issue 21 Wednesday 9th September 2020

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THE WEEK IN RETAIL

EDITOR’S COMMENT SHARE YOUR NEWS AND VIEWS WITH ME AT ABEGLEY@55NORTH.COM

A FOND FAREWELL TO ‘THE MAN WITH THREE BRAINS’ I believe it all started with an interview in The Times when an unnamed ex-colleague first uttered an approximation of the phrase ‘the man with three brains’ when describing the soon-to be-retiring Booker CEO Charles Wilson. It may have been a genuine quote or it may have been invented or slightly embellished, but it resonated, mainly because most people come away from a meeting with Charles with the impression that he‘s smarter than the average bear.

His record speaks for itself. M&S, the Arcadia Group and Booker were in perilous states before Charles came along and while he didn’t effect spectacular turnarounds all on his own, he was unquestionably the mastermind that both saw what needed to be done and saw how he could get the teams around him to buy into his vision.

Booker was almost literally worthless when he took over, bloated and collapsing under the weight of a huge debt burden – and he sold it to Tesco for the best part of £4bn a little over a decade later. You can’t argue with that.

Unusually, however, he did it all without any of the alpha male swagger that often accompanies so many successful male business people. Softly

spoken, humble, positive and always with time for whoever he is talking to, it’s hard to find anybody with a bad word to say about him, even among his competitors.

I had the pleasure – and it was a pleasure – to meet Charles on many occasions and get a very brief insight into how he navigates the world and deals with the people he encounters, permanently jotting things down in that little notebook of his.

He was capable of a bizarre attention to detail, something many people comment on. He was one of those rare people who seems to remember everything you told him in a conversation 18 months ago. Your wife’s name, the holiday you were just about to go on at that point, what you had for lunch that day. He just seems interested in those around him – and that generates loyalty and respect.

Thankfully in remission after being diagnosed with throat cancer a few years ago, Charles will retire in February next year and the whole industry will lose one of its true A-listers. He is undoubtedly a phenomenal businessman, but he’s an even better human being. He will be sorely missed, and not just by those at Booker.

ANTONYBEGLEY ANTONYBEGLEY ANTONYBEGLEY

ANTONY BEGLEY, EDITOR

WEDNESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2020 / ISSUE 21 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 3

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CONTENTS

WEDNESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2020 / ISSUE 21 WWW.SLRMAG.CO.UK

6

10 THIS WEEK’S NEWS IN BRIEF

PROFILE: BOOKER CEO CHARLES WILSON

RESEARCH: STAYCATIONS

Protesters disrupts newspaper production and shopworker protection campaigns gather pace.

The turnaround king who took the wholesaler from the brink of collapse to a £4bn valuation.

The staycation trend looks set to carry on into 2021 – which is great news for local retailers.

8 COVID-19 UPDATE

A ROUND-UP OF THE LATEST

21 OUT THE BOX: FRESHR

25 BEFORE YOU GO...

CORONAVIRUS-RELATED NEWS. 14 SOFTWARE REVIEW: JISP

18

A SIMPLE SOLUTION THAT WILL CONVERT ANY CIGARETTE INTO A MENTHOL

LONGER RISING, WHILE A HALF-BAKED

CIGARETTE.

CO-OP TWEET MAKES JOURNALIST

THE JISP ALL-IN-ONE SHOPPING APP

23 PICKS OF THE WEEK

OFFERS CLICK & COLLECT, SCAN & GO AND

HOME DELIVERY. BUT IS IT ANY GOOD?

TWITTER.COM/SLRMAG

IT LOOKS LIKE DEMAND FOR FLOUR IS NO

ANDREW NEIL’S BLOOD BOIL.

A LOOK AT THE LATEST NEW PRODUCTS AND MARKETING CAMPAIGNS.

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SLRMAG

WWW.SLRMAG.CO.UK

WEDNESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2020 / ISSUE 21 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 5

NEWS DIGEST

THIS WEEK’S NEWS FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS, HEAD TO WWW.SLRMAG.CO.UK/CATEGORY/NEWS/

PITRON JOINS MFG Motor Fuel Group (MFG), the UK’s largest independent forecourt operator, has named David Pitron as its new

NEWSTRADE

77 CHARGED OVER EXTINCTION REBELLION NEWSPAPER BLOCKADE

commercial director. Pitron

A TOTAL OF 77 PROTESTERS HAVE BEEN CHARGED WITH CRIMINAL

joins from BP where he worked

OFFENCES FOLLOWING A BLOCKADE OF NEWSPAPER GROUPS AT

for the past 16 years, latterly

THE WEEKEND BY ENVIRONMENTAL CAMPAIGNERS EXTINCTION

as the UK-based global retail

REBELLION.

commercial development director.

E-VOUCHER DEAL PayPoint has entered an exclusive deal with NeoSurf, an organisation which provide pincodes for use across 20,000 different websites, which allows customers to buy Neosurf pre-paid pincodes at

A major blockade of newspaper groups at the weekend by environmental campaigners Extinction Rebellion has led to 77 protestors being charged with criminal offences. The campaign caused huge disruption to national newspaper deliveries affecting around 1.5m copies.

The actions at Broxbourne in Hertfordshire and Knowsley in Merseyside were condemned by

the News UK-owned Newsprinters business as an “attack on all of the free press” which had affected workers going about their jobs, and others such as newsagents who face a “financial penalty”.

The company transferred printing to other sites, but delays were caused to some deliveries of The Sun, The Times, the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times.

over 27,000 PayPoint retailers across the UK. Cash can also be used to top-up balances on Neosurf e-wallets and prepaid cards.

WASTE NOT Sainsbury has extended its in-store food donation programme by allowing customers to make online donations to the FareShare food waste and hunger charity as part of their shop. All funds will go towards buying food for redistribution across FareShare’s UK network.

SMART CHECKOUT PAYMENTS ‘TO HIT $387BN BY 2025’ A new report from Juniper Research has predicted that the value of retail transactions processed by frictionless smart checkout technologies will hit $387bn in the next five years, despite the fact that the value processed in 2020 will be only $2bn.

The ‘Digital Retail Technologies‘ report says the massive growth will be driven by retailers looking for sustainable business models in the wake of Covid-19.

Amazon is already ahead of the curve on this frictionless model with its ‘Just Walk Out’ technology that it

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has been using its own Amazon Go stores for several years. Its move into licensing out its technology to other retailers will only help generate further growth.

The report also predicts that retailers will invest over $23bn globally in Artificial Intelligence technology by 2025, up from $5bn this year.

NEWS DIGEST

THIS WEEK’S NEWS FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS, HEAD TO WWW.SLRMAG.CO.UK/CATEGORY/NEWS/

SHOPWORKER PROTECTION

SHOPWORKER PROTECTION CAMPAIGNS GATHER STEAM

FLORIST FRENZY Morrisons is hiring an extra 180 fully-qualified florists as part of plans to install a

MOMENTUM CONTINUES TO BUILD BEHIND SEVERAL CAMPAIGNS

further 60 florist stations in

DEMANDING BETTER PROTECTION FOR SHOPWORKERS.

the supermarket’s stores to take the total to over 100.

Shopworkers’ trade union Usdaw has announced that it is throwing its weight being a campaign by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) to improve legislation to protect shopworkers from violence. The BRC launched a Shopworkers’ Protection Pledge last week which has been signed by MPs who support legislation necessary to protect shopworkers.

It follows a parliamentary petition launched by Usdaw which now has over 58,000 signatures, as the union continues to campaign for the 100,000 signatures that should trigger a parliamentary debate.

BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson (pictured) said: “Every day, hundreds of hard-working retail

Google data shows that online searches for flowers climbed by 277% during lockdown.

PORTMAN BLOG Alcohol industry watchdog the Portman Group has launched a

colleagues are subjected to violence or abuse in their place of work. These incidents have multiplied during the pandemic, which is why we are now calling on MPs from all parties to come together and sign the Shopworkers’ Protection Pledge. On behalf of the three million people who work in retail, their families, and their communities, there is one simple message – doing nothing is not an option.”

LIDL REWARDS APP ROLLED OUT Lidl rolled its Lidl Plus app out last Thursday giving customers access to exclusive weekly discounts and rewards when they scan their digital card at the till. The app features weekly coupons and scratch cards handed out with every purchase where customers could win up to £20 off their weekly shop.

Each week customers get new single-use coupons to use on their next shop – with some discounts of up to 25% on selected products.

Lidl Plus will also be launching a ‘Coupon Plus’ feature where customers will get bonus money-off coupons to use on their next shop when they reach a certain target.

new blog series: ‘Responsible actions to Covid-19’. The series features alcohol charities, partnerships and industry bodies and looks at the impact of Covid-19 on the alcohol sector, demonstrating the responsible and rapid response from the industry.

PLASTIC FANTASTIC News UK is close to removing all single-use plastic used to wrap its titles. Last weekend, Sunday Times magazines in parts of South East of England were wrapped with a recyclable paper band and The Saturday Times magazine will follow this weekend. The banding will be phased in across the rest of the UK and Ireland by mid-October.

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NEWS SPECIAL

COVID-19 UPDATE FOR ALL THE LATEST CORONAVIRUS NEWS, HEAD TO WWW.SLRMAG.CO.UK/CATEGORY/NEWS/

EARLY XMAS Central England Co-op has announced that mince pies and Christmas puddings are

CONSUMER SPENDING GROWS IN AUGUST

on sale from today in an effort

THE LATEST BARCLAYCARD CONSUMER SPENDING REPORT

to meet customer demand

REVEALS THAT SPENDING GREW IN AUGUST, THE FIRST GROWTH

as shopping trends shift

SINCE FEBRUARY.

dramatically under Covid-19.

The retailer said the move followed customer demand.

FOOTFALL PLUMMET BRC-Shoppertrak data covering August shows footfall in Scottish shopping centres and malls down 43% compared to the same period last year, the second weakest

Consumer spending grew 0.2% in August, the first uplift since February, as Brits enjoyed the last of summer by socialising and holidaying in the UK, according to the latest Barclaycard Consumer Spending Report.

The report found that spending on essential items grew 5.1% yearon-year, with growth largely driven by supermarket shopping which was up 14.9%. Lower prices at the petrol pump contributed to fuel spend

declining 13.3%, although the number of transactions returned to similar levels seen last year, down just 2.4%.

Despite a steady return to the high street, the data indicates the months of lockdown have accelerated a sustained shift towards online shopping. The highest category increases are seen across supermarkets, which showed a considerable 102.7% YOY rise as the popularity of online food orders prevailed.

performance of any part of the UK. Shopper footfall in Glasgow was down 35% last month compared to the same

TESCO PREPS UFC FIRST

period last year.

JJ RECORD SALES JJ Foodservice has reported record sales as the eating out market picks up and home consumers keep shopping in bulk. For four weeks in August, total sales increased by 9.27% compared to the same period the previous year. JJ picked up thousands of new customers after launching a business-toconsumer service at the start of the pandemic.

Tesco is set to launch its first urban fulfilment centre (UFC) as it gears up to capitalise on the home delivery boom.

Construction of the facility in West Bromwich was paused in March but Tesco was able to recently complete the work. Automated UFCs will help the

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supermarket make use of extra space in larger stores as Tesco ramps up its focus on same day delivery, delivery within an hour of placing an order and enhanced Click & Collect capabilities.

Two more UFCs will follow this year and at least another 10 are scheduled to go live in 2021.

NEWS SPECIAL

COVID-19 UPDATE FOR ALL THE LATEST CORONAVIRUS NEWS, HEAD TO WWW.SLRMAG.CO.UK/CATEGORY/NEWS/

SOCIAL GATHERINGS LIMITED TO SIX IN ENGLAND

JUST EAT ADDS BITCOIN PAYMENT Food delivery service Just Eat is now accepting payment by Bitcoin in France, the result of a partnership with cryptocurrency payment provider Bitpay. The deal covers around 15,000 restaurants in France and the company does not charge any fee on Bitcoin payments.

THE GOVERNMENT IS FORCED TO TIGHTEN LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS AFTER A SPIKE IN CORONAVIRUS CASES.

A

TOTAL SCOTTISH DEATHS ‘UP A THIRD’ The total number of deaths in Scotland rose by a third between April and June this year, according to National Records of Scotland figures with Covid-19 cited as the underlying cause of 3,739 of the total 18,201 deaths. The figure represents a hike of more than 4,500 on the five-year average.

Covid-19 accounted for 83% of the ‘excess‘ deaths.

Deaths from diabetes, dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease were about a quarter higher than the five-year average, although deaths from transport accidents were down by over 69%.

Customers must create a digital wallet by downloading software but can then pay for their deliveries in Euros based on the current Bitcoin rate on the Bitpay platform.

TECH SOLUTIONS

steep rise in coronavirus cases has led to the Government outlawing gatherings of more than six people in England from Monday coming. The law change will ban groups of more than six of all ages meeting anywhere socially indoors or outdoors.

It will not apply to schools, workplaces or Covid-secure events including weddings, funerals and organised team sports. Those failing to copy face a £100 fine, doubling on each offence up to a maximum of £3,200.

The rules follow the enforcement of a local-lockdown in Bolton and a widening of the mini-lockdown in the Glasgow area.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the rules would be in place for the “foreseeable future”.

The addition of crypto payments comes after the acquisition of Just Eat France by Takeaway. com which has been accepting Bitcoin payments since 2017.

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PROFILE

CHARLES WILSON BOOKER

FINAL LAP OF HONOUR FOR THE

TURNAROUND KING BOOKER CEO CHARLES WILSON IS TO RETIRE EARLY NEXT YEAR, CALLING TIME ON A TRULY REMARKABLE CAREER. HIS 15 YEAR SPELL AT THE WHOLESALER SAW IT TRANSFORMED FROM A BUSINESS OF THE VERGE OF COLLAPSE INTO A BEHEMOTH THAT TESCO VALUED AT £4BN.

C

BY ANTONY BEGLEY

harles Wilson is, arguably, the most successful businessman ever to operate in the UK convenience and wholesaling channel. He’s one of the most successful businessmen in the UK, full stop – but among his peers in this particular industry he has built a reputation that is very probably unique. Admired, respected and liked in equal measure, his quiet, considered manner belies a man with the sharpest brain. Or, as an article in The Times put it: “The main with three brains”. The quote was attributed to an unnamed former colleague, but it got the point across.

What Wilson achieved at Booker is often lost in the mists of time, but when he first joined the business some 15 years ago, it was literally on the verge of going to the wall. It was saddled

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with crippling debt – hundreds of millions – so much so that it was it was unable to service the debt and had crashed ignominiously through the borrowing levels set by its bank. At one point in the mid-90s, it lost 90% of its stock market value.

It had been a tumultuous time for the once great company. In 2000, it was sold to Iceland Supermarkets, via Big Food Group, which was then in turn sold itself four years later to Icelandic group Baugur which split Booker and Iceland back into different companies. Baugur ultimately became one of the more high profile disasters of that catastrophic period, with the founder of the company found guilty of serious accounting irregularities.

By 2007, Booker had reversed into the AIMlisted grocery wholesaler Blueheath to form

PROFILE

CHARLES WILSON BOOKER

“At one point Booker was the world’s largest producer of Atlantic salmon and, bizarrely, it once bought the rights to the works of James Bond creator Ian Fleming.”

Booker Group plc and Baugur sold all its assets in Booker Cash & Carry in June 2008, just weeks after the accounting scandal. Baugur collapsed the following year in the middle of the Icelandic financial crisis.

A remarkable fall for a company that was once so proud and so diverse. So why would Wilson be attracted to a business in that sort of shape?

Surely there were more attractive options on the table, given his already stellar career? The answer lies deep within that much discussed brain, but Wilson clearly saw the potential in a business that had lost its way but which he believed could be refocused. And it wasn’t the first time he had transformed ailing businesses. He is widely credited with saving the likes of Marks & Spencer and the Arcadia Group. He was no stranger to a daunting challenge.

Perhaps Wilson’s greatest gift is the ability to analyse what looks like an exceptionally complex business but see it in very simple terms. Solutions come quickly to Wilson, often jotted down in the infamous little notepad he always carries with him.

This vision of his is neatly encapsulated in the mantra that quickly became de rigeur for anyone that worked at Booker, from Wilson himself down to staff in cash and carry branches: “choice, price and service” was the answer to any question. It was repeated so often in so many interviews with anyone from Booker that it became something of a running joke for anyone outside the business.

But that seemingly inconsequential little phrase gave every member of the vast Booker team something to focus in on, to fall back on, to believe in. Choice, price and service were the

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PROFILE

CHARLES WILSON BOOKER

only things that mattered. Get them right and the rest would follow, he reasoned – and he was right.

And it’s hard to overestimate how powerful this mini-strategy was. Over the eons Booker had become a vast but sprawling business. Between 1956 and 1978 it bought, on average, a company a year. Its assets over the years included sugar estates in Guyana, a drug company in Zambia, a car parts supplier in Canada and a disused lead mine in Wales. At one point it was the world’s largest producer of Atlantic salmon and, perhaps most bizarrely, it once bought the rights to the works of James Bond creator Ian Fleming (which ultimately led to the establishment of the Booker Prize) as well as a majority share of the rights to Agatha Christie’s works.

You get the picture. The company had lost its way and successive CEOs, including Stuart Rose, had a hard job even working out what the company actually owned, never mind working out how to deal with it and how to refocus the business back on what it was good at: food and drink.

Wilson was the first, however, to bring a laser focus to the business and that focus took effect in a remarkably short period of time. The ailing business was transformed in just a few years and was ultimately sold to Tesco for the best part of £4bn. Not bad for a company that was virtually bust only a decade or so previously.

As well as refocusing the business, Wilson also proved to have a very keen eye for an acquisition – often buying other under-performing or troubled businesses that he saw potential in.

Makro in 2012, for instance, and Budgens and Londis in 2017. Many questioned the wisdom of those acquisitions at the time, pondering the logic behind them, but time has once again come out in favour of a man with a preternatural knack of backing a winner.

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The secret of Wilson’s success will remain unknown and probably unknowable, but much of it comes down to his ability to rapidly process information and to quickly see what matters and what doesn’t, often brutally so.

It’s reported that in his first days with Booker in 2005 his first moves were to reduce stockholding levels by 30%, manage capital expenditure down to 30% and get a much firmer grasp of creditor management. Simple stuff, but effective. Wilson himself has often been heard to refer to his ‘single sheet of paper’, the implication being that the solution to any problem must fit on a single side of A4. If it doesn’t, you haven’t reached the heart of the problem yet.

He also apparently believes in a ‘six Cs’ model when approaching the turnaround of a foundering business: make an immediate impact on Cashflow, then deal with Costs in a few weeks and Customers within a few months. Concept takes a little longer and Culture is the one that will take longest to repair. However it’s a very simple model that anyone can understand and anyone can implement – and it fits on one side of A4.

One thing that even the all-conquering Wilson can’t simplify into success, however, is serious illness and it was a desperately sad day for many when he was diagnosed with throat cancer a couple of years ago. At the time he was widely expected to become boss of the merged Tesco-Booker group. Being Wilson however, he set about fighting the disease with the same methodical, determined optimism that he brought to every battle in his life – and thankfully he remains in remission to this day.

The decision, then, to retire in February next year is an entirely understandable one and there is absolutely no doubt that he leaves an incredible legacy. Dave Lewis, Tesco Group Chief Executive,

PROFILE

CHARLES WILSON BOOKER

was moved to comment: “Charles’ reputation in the UK food business is unparalleled and for very good reason. The transformation of Booker over the last 15 years is one of the most remarkable business case studies in recent history. Since the merger with Tesco he has been a superb member of the Executive team and a brilliant colleague.

Whilst we are very sad to see him retire, we completely understand and wish Charles and his family all the very best for the future. I know that he will stay a massive supporter of the Tesco/ Booker business and he will always remain a friend to many colleagues.”

For his part, and with typical understated modesty, Wilson himself says: “I joined the Booker team 15 years ago. At that time Booker was challenged. Together we turned around the company, improved customer satisfaction and grew to be the leading wholesaler. In 2018 we merged with Tesco. The merger is working well.

Customer satisfaction has improved, our sales are up £1.5bn and we are proud to be part of Tesco. It has been a privilege serving our retail and catering customers and a pleasure working with a great team at Tesco/Booker.

“A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with throat cancer. I remain in remission but it is time to take things a little easier. I will retire next year to be replaced by Andrew Yaxley. Andrew will be a great leader of Booker within the Tesco Group.

Andrew and I will ensure a smooth handover to maintain business as usual. It has been a huge privilege to be part of Booker and Tesco, and I look forward to seeing the group flourish in the years ahead.“ Characteristically, Wilson also added a little PS to that comment: “For those of you who ask such things, I will not be selling any Tesco shares in the next few years and will remain a committed supporter of the company.“

RETAILER VIEW...

Linda Williams of Broadway Conveneince Store in Edinburgh commented: “Charles will undoubtedly be a huge miss, and not just because of what he has done for Booker in terms of turning round the company and restoring it to financial health.

“He is an extraordinary man. When you speak to him, you immediately know that you are speaking to someone who is five steps ahead of you in terms of intellect and vision – and yet he inspires great trust, because he is also a man of integrity and honesty.

“We have been very lucky to have had quite a lot of personal contact with Charles and he has always taken a very hands-on approach to advising us on our business, and been hugely generous with his time, for which we are immensely grateful. For his part, he always says that time spent talking to retailers about their own business and Booker is never time wasted. His favourite phrase is ‘gold dust’ with reference to any information he can glean from us!

“I have often witnessed Charles paying for trolley loads of goods in branch, particularly for small businesses or charities, bringing out his own wallet, and indeed on more than one occasion he has paid for a customer’s shopping in our store.

“If anyone deserves a bit of a quiet life, it is Charles, but somehow I doubt whether that is what he really has in mind; he will have other projects up his sleeve, for sure. He will be a very hard act to follow…”

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SOFTWARE REVIEW

JISP ALL-IN-ONE SHOPPING APP

UNDER THE BONNET:

JISP

THE NEW JISP APP OFFERS HOME DELIVERY, CLICK & COLLECT AND SCAN-AND-GO

C

FUNCTIONALITY ALL IN A SINGLE APP. SLR TAKES A CLOSER LOOK.

BY ANTONY BEGLEY

oronavirus has turned the world of retail on its head but there have been several important upsides for local retailers in particular. The most obvious is the huge growth in sales that the sector has seen over the last six months, but a potentially even more important benefit has been the effect the pandemic has had on accelerating the uptake of new tech-based solutions that could prove to have a huge long-term benefit for the sector.

One of the solutions making huge strides is the Jisp app, launched into convenience in partnership with the NFRN. The app is touted as an ‘all-in-one’ solution as it offers home delivery, click & collect and scan-and-go functionality all in a single app. The key question is, does it work?

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SOFTWARE REVIEW

JISP ALL-IN-ONE SHOPPING APP

There have been many great tech solutions that have had a serious and sustained crack at the convenience sector but ultimately without much success. The principal reason for this is invariably not a weakness in the solution itself, but in a failure to understand how the convenience sector works and what convenience retailers are looking for from a tech solution. Anything that requires hours of work a day at a computer or tablet is a non-starter for most retailers, as is anything that requires massive retraining for staff.

To find out whether Jisp has overcome this serious challenge, we decided to have a closer look at how it works. Having operated a rewards scheme with some complex tech behind it at the Woodlands Local business we used to own, we have some experience of trying to integrate tech into a convenience retailing environment.

LET’S GET CLICKING At first sight, the Jisp back office is extremely well designed, bright, simple and easy to navigate.

It’s a very intuitive user interface that will be familiar to anyone with a smartphone or tablet.

Jisp claim that retailers can literally be up and running within an hour, as there’s no hardware required and no complex integrations. Retailers simply stick in their email address and phone number, choose the package they want, add their bank details (to allow them to receive payments) and then personalise the customer-facing app by adding a store logo or photo. It really is that simple and it takes maybe three or four minutes max. After that, you’re ready to start creating your own product file.

PRODUCT FILE The quickest and easiest way to get started is by creating a product file for your store from the list of 1,000 or so top-selling convenience lines that

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SOFTWARE REVIEW

JISP ALL-IN-ONE SHOPPING APP

are already held within Jisp’s master database.

Every product in that file comes complete with barcodes, pack details and product photography.

All that retailers need to do is choose the lines they stock and want to include on their personalised app and then add the pricing.

Retailers can also add individual products or even an entire line list by emailing it to the team at Jisp who will then do the hard work for you.

Some retailers prefer to offer a limited range via the app for home delivery or click & collect while others are keen to include as many products as they can. The choice is yours and you can evolve it over time, adding new lines and delisting others.

PROMOTIONS With the product file updated and now live on the app, retailers can then start adding promotions.

These can be promotions you get via your wholesaler or they can be promotions that you create yourself using a number of pre-formatted templates. The promotions are automatically and instantly added to the ‘promotions’ tab on the customer-facing app. Promotions cost just £1 per week to run.

At this point, Jisp doesn’t have full integrations with the various symbol groups around the UK which means that the regular three or four weekly promotional files cannot be pulled directly into the app, but it’s something they say they are working on.

SETTINGS The next step is to choose your settings which basically means choosing which solutions you wish to run with. The three options are frictionless shopping (scan-and-go), home delivery and click & collect. Retailers can choose any combination and can switch services on and off as they see fit.

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SOFTWARE REVIEW

JISP ALL-IN-ONE SHOPPING APP

HOME DELIVERY If you’ve switched home delivery on, the next step is to create your own set of rules for how you want your particular home delivery service to operate.

The first step is choosing a delivery radius, then you can choose the hours that you want to do home deliveries, the maximum delivery number per hour and the delivery fee. You can set different delivery fees for different times of the day, should you wish to run premium pricing at peak times, for instance.

ADDING DRIVERS Using Jisp, the retailer is responsible for the delivery of the orders. You can do this in several ways: using your own current staff, recruiting new full-time or part-time drivers, or outsourcing delivery to one of the many providers available.

To add drivers, all you need to do is add their contact details into the system then they have to download the Jisp-powered YouDeliver app which lets them access live delivery orders. The driver then uses the app to manage the deliveries and, because the app is fully integrated with the customer-facing Jisp app, it means that customers are also kept up to date on the status of their orders with real-time live updates in their app.

CLICK & COLLECT Click & collect works in pretty much the same way with customers simply making orders on the app then collecting them at the store at the allotted time.

PAYMENTS Unlike some other apps, all home delivery payments are made vis the app using a preregistered credit card so the drivers are not required to transport cash or carry a float, which offers an element of security and safety.

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SOFTWARE REVIEW

JISP ALL-IN-ONE SHOPPING APP

Click & collect orders can be paid for either on the app or by card or cash in the store, although their transaction fee for retailers is considerably smaller if customers pay via the app.

SCAN-AND-GO The frictionless shopping functionality is slightly more complex in that, for it to work optimally, the app really needs to feature every single product you have for sale in your store. Customers scan a QR code when they enter the store, scan their shopping as they go, then scan the QR code on the way back out and their payment is automatically deducted from their credit card.

The QR code can be provided by siting a cheap tablet at the store entrance to maximise convenience and customer experience but with a minimum of outlay.

All age-restricted products are flagged up in the system and staff approval and an ID check are required before the transaction can be completed.

Theft is clearly a concern for many retailers but a staff tablet, for instance, allows staff to monitor basket additions in real-time as customers pass around the store. A little practice is all that’s required to ensure that shrinkage is minimised or eliminated altogether.

GAMIFICATION The app also provides a unique weekly storespecific quiz which seems like a gimmick but, according to several Jisp retailers I’ve spoken to, has actually been a surprising hit with customers.

Retailers can offer small prizes if they choose – a bottle of wine or a box of chocolates – and the service has been far more popular than you might expect. It certainly helps keep engagement levels up and keeps shoppers interested and using the app.

18 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 21 / WEDNESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2020

SOFTWARE REVIEW

JISP ALL-IN-ONE SHOPPING APP

PRICING One of the most attractive elements of the Jisp app is its very competitive pricing model. The Elite package, which includes home delivery and click & collect has a relatively modest activation cost of £75, a weekly service fee of £2.50 and a weekly home delivery fee of £6. Frictionless shopping costs an extra £20 a week, with the weekly quiz available for £1.50. There’s also a fee of £1 per week for each promotion, as noted above.

CONCLUSION The Jisp app is mercifully free of many of the issues that have dogged many other tech solutions pitched at the convenience retail market. It almost literally couldn’t be any easier to use, it requires no hardware, no staff training and a bare minimum of input from retailers to get it up and running.

Retailers retain full control of all aspects of the app and can tailor it as they go with a click of a mouse button or a tap of a screen, as they learn what’s working for shoppers and what’s not.

There are over 24,000 customers who have already downloaded the Jisp app and that number is set to grow considerably as the company rolls the app out in partnership with NFRN – so there’s a readymade audience of shoppers out there looking for a local retailer to use.

Jisp also provides a number of marketing solutions to help retailers let their community know that they’re now using the app.

All in, it’s a slick and professional looking solution that should be more than capable of holding its own as the home delivery mega trend continues to evolve in the future.

WEDNESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2020 / ISSUE 21 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 19

RESEARCH

STAYCATIONS 56 DEGREE INSIGHT

STAYCATION TREND ‘TO CONTINUE INTO 2021’ NEW RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT THE STAYCATION TREND THAT HAS EMERGED THIS YEAR IS SET TO

B

CARRY ON INTO 2021 – BRINGING WITH IT MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL RETAILERS.

rand new research undertaken at the end of August by Edinburgh-based 56 Degree Insight has revealed that 60% of those interviewed have already ruled out a foreign holiday in 2021, presenting a wealth of new opportunities for local retailers as consumers remain committed to the staycation trend.

The survey is purely a Scottish one but has implications for the whole of the UK. Launched in May and canvassing more than 2,000 people, the Scottish Tourism Index was carried out in four separate waves in an attempt to get a handle on how people feel about travel generally and to monitor the tourism and leisure desires and concerns of the Scottish population.

In this fourth and final wave, undertaken in the last week of August, the Index was able to examine the nature of the holidays taken by Scots in Scotland in July and August – as well as making more robust predictions about the rest of this year.

Some key findings have emerged:

1 PEOPLE ARE STILL FEELING A SENSE OF NERVOUSNESS ABOUT TRAVEL GENERALLY: Q Nervousness around travel is still considerable with destinations outside Scotland ruled out for the majority.

Although three-quarters are willing to consider Scotland for holidays, a quarter will not travel at all at the moment.

Q The financial impacts of Covid-19 are showing signs

20 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 21 / WEDNESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2020

of increasing, with 35% of Scots saying they have been impacted ‘significantly’. This will undoubtedly impact on travel and tourism with less money around to spend on holidays later this year and into 2021. It will also likely impact behaviours, types of holiday and destination choices.

Q The likely changing face of tourism will be exacerbated in 2021 by a clear demonstration that most Scots are unlikely to return to foreign holiday-taking by air next year (60% already ruling it out) – especially older Scots who will undoubtedly be the last group to regain confidence to travel by air following the impacts of Covid-19.

2 THE SCALE OF THE STAYCATION MARKET IS SIGNIFICANT: Q The proportion of Scots either considering or having taken a 2020 Scottish holiday by late August remains remarkably consistent with July’s findings (53%), however not surprisingly, there has been movement down the holiday purchase funnel. By late August, 13% of Scots had already taken a holiday in Scotland since lockdown, whilst a further 10% had booked and 4% were at the ‘serious planning’ stage. Just over a quarter were only thinking about a Scottish holiday (27%).

Q Just under four in 10 have no intention of a home holiday this year (38%) however as many as 9% claim to have been undecided but have now rejected a staycation this year. If all the holidays being considered are eventually

RESEARCH

STAYCATIONS 56 DEGREE INSIGHT

FASTSTATS Q 60% have ruled out a foreign holiday in 2021 Q 35% have been impacted ‘significantly’ in terms of their financial situation Q 2.4 million holidays will be taken by Scots in Scotland in 2020

WEDNESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2020 / ISSUE 21 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 21

RESEARCH

STAYCATIONS 56 DEGREE INSIGHT

taken, around 2.4 million holidays will be taken by Scots in Scotland in 2020.

Q Take-up is highest among families – just ahead of prenesters. Empty nesters, traditionally the ‘mainstay’ of domestic tourism, are least likely to be considering a Scottish staycation this year – a reflection of the greater fears this group has around Covid. Therefore, not only is the industry dealing with a much more Scottishbased mix of visitors in 2020, it is also having to adapt to different needs among a younger and more familyoriented audience.

Q Over half of these potential tourists would not have considered a home holiday if it were not for coronavirus (51%) – although three in five were still at the ‘consideration stage’ in late August – work is clearly still required to convert them into real bookings.

Q Of the 47% of Scots who will not be taking a holiday or break in Scotland this year, many cited fears around the fact that the virus was still at large and safety concerns as a key deterrent for a home holiday – this was the key barrier for half of them.

Q Hygiene and cleanliness top the list amongst potential visitors as the most important factors to be adequately addressed on a Scottish staycation this year – both in the accommodation they use and more generally.

3 EATING AND DRINKING ON HOLIDAY: Q There has been a reticence towards eating out on holiday

22 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 21 / WEDNESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2020

since May, with Scots expressing a greater desire to buy food and cook for themselves while on holiday.

Q Almost three in five ate out while on holiday – probably reflecting an increased trust in the safety mitigations as well as the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme.

4 THE PROSPECTS FOR 2021 Q Scotland remains the most likely destination for most Scots’ holidays in 2021 – around half are either definite or very likely they will take a home holiday and a further 30% are fairly likely they will do so – four in five Scots overall.

Q Other parts of the UK are also likely to benefit from more Scots holidays next year with around two-thirds likely to go there. Europe is a probability for just over two in five (44%) and 22% are likely to consider going further afield.

This all does suggest that the impacts of Covid in encouraging more Scots to consider a home holiday in 2020 may continue into 2021. And indeed, when Scots were asked how their likelihood to take a home holiday in 2021 compared with their thoughts pre-coronavirus, the response is encouraging.

A third of Scots are now more likely to consider Scotland for holidays than they were pre-Covid. With 17% now less likely to do so, this represents a swing to staycations (in 2021) of +16%. The swing is greatest amongst families – and also among those who would not have considered Scotland this year if it was not for Covid-19.

NOW THAT’S A GOOD IDEA…

OUT THE BOX FRESHR

FRESHR WAY TO MAKE ANY CIGARETTE MENTHOL FOR ADULT SMOKERS MISSING THEIR FAVOURITE MENTHOL CIGARETTE AFTER THE BAN IN MAY, FRESHR OFFERS AN INNOVATIVE AND VERY SIMPLE WAY TO ADD MENTHOL TASTE TO ANY CIGARETTE.

WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA? A solution that converts any cigarette into a menthol cigarette.

HOW DOES IT DO THAT? FRESHR is essentially a small cigarette holder that splits in two. One half holds the cigarette, the other holds a filter with a mentholated capsule that smokers crush before using. Pop in a capsule, give it a squeeze, then screw the two halves together and hey presto, you’ve got yourself a menthol cigarette, or as close as you’re going to get these days.

ARE THEY SINGLE USE? The filter can be used up to four times before a replacement is required, depending on the strength of the cigarette and customer preference. The company says that, from its research among 150 ‘product testers‘, two- thirds of users say that they smoke three cigarettes with each filter, with a quarter saying two cigarettes.

WHAT’S THE ROUTE TO MARKET? FRESHR’s business model is web-based and they currently

have a few reps covering the M62 corridor, although they say they will have over 20 sales reps by end of November.

Retailers can order online or by phone and the stock is shipped using next day delivery service.

SO, NOT THROUGH WHOLESALE? The company says it has chosen an online model “to give as much margin to retailers as possible” and also because it is keen to work directly with its retail partners.

HOW IS THE PRODUCT BEING MARKETED? FRESHR is running targeted social media ad campaigns asking consumers to ‘Find Your Local Stockist’. The company supports stockists by advertising directly to their geographic catchment area and also provides high quality content that retailers can use themselves in their own social media posts

WHAT ARE THE COMMERCIALS? An outer costs £37.50 and individual packs of 30 retail at an RSP of £2.99. That’s a margin of 33%, or 74p cash margin per pack.

WEDNESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2020 / ISSUE 21 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 23

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Social Media Icon Social Media Icons tel: 0141 554 7633 2017 Updated Social Media Icons 2017 Updated email: sales@greencity.coop 2017 Updated

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NAKED IN MINUTES

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To order or to open an account, contact John Lucas:

WEDNESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2020 / ISSUE 21 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 25

Helping you to make an extra 3% Gross Profit Ease of use

Simple to use touch screen till software

Backoffice admin software

Cigarette Gantry integration

Indepth reporting and analysis

Touch screen handheld device to control the shop from the shopfloor

Supplier Data links with all major Wholesalers

Credit Card integration

Weekly health check reports to guide you to improve your sales and margin.

Access to background database with over 100,000 products

Benefits of MPos ✓ Built around a retailer, not a computer user ✓ Simple to use till, powerful admin tools ✓ Built from retailers perspective ✓ Reduces labour by downloading products, price changes, invoices and promotions

✓ Reduces labour by allowing one click order generation and one click invoice downloads - easily shave off 10 hours of work per store

✓ Increased control on stock; all stock deliveries downloaded and all stock adjustments emailed to the owner; NO stock is unaccounted for

✓ Emails store performance to the user with real actionable data once a week rather than stats heavy reports that overwhelm the user

✓ Based in Scotland with excellent support and training program

✓ Easy to use Hand Held terminal to control the store from shop floor ✓ Integration with Credit Card terminals, Zapper, Cigarette Gantry, Loyalty Schemes and more ✓ Developed and supported by people that know the retail trade

So How much Could our System make for you?

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BEFORE YOU GO

RETAIL RANDOMS FLOUR GLUT / CO-OP TWITTER STORM

OH, HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED IT ONLY SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY WHEN THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE MOST RETAILERS HAD WAS GETTING THEIR HANDS ON SOME FLOUR FOR ALL OF THOSE BUDDING HOME BAKERS OUT THERE. MY, HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED...

BANNED FROM ADVERTISING IN THE SPECTATOR The Co-op got itself embroiled in a Twitter spat at the tail end of last week with broadcaster and journalist Andrew Neil after a transgender person took to the social media platform to praise the Co-op for a series of ads celebrating diversity, but also calling it out for its ad support of the Spectator, a magazine with a less than liberal editorial policy.

A trigger-happy member of the Co-op Social Media team promptly

The Spectator then weighed in, presumably at Neil’s behest, to

issued an apparently off-the-cuff pacifying response...

accuse the Co-op of trying to use its “commercial clout to stifle debate”...

Disappointingly, the Co-op then issued what amounted to a retraction and apology, rather than simply sharing a link to The Spectator’s Which drew a ferocious response from the Scottish firebrand...

website to allow the Twittersphere to judge for themselves whether The Spectator’s coverage of transgender issues is typically ‘stimulating debate’ or perhaps something a little more sinister.

WEDNESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2020 / ISSUE 21 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 27

R o f Y ENERg F F U T S L A E E R H T th the i w k n i r d y g r e n e e n i u e r f b f a n r i f o high c e t s a t e l b a b i r indesc

FROM THE UK'S NO.1 FLAVOURED * CARBONATE BRAND