HOW’S YOUR WEEK BEEN...

RETAILER INTERVIEW

ROSS MACPHERSON, DAY-TODAY DOONFOOT / DAY-TODAY BARRASSIE

IT’S BEEN A WHIRLWIND LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS FOR AYRSHIRE RETAILER ROSS MACPHERSON WITHHUGE SALES GROWTH IN BOTH OF HIS STORES AND AN EXTRA £10K A WEEK IN EACH STORE ON HOMEDELIVERY.

HOW’S YOUR WEEK BEEN ROSS?

Good. Very, very busy but good and both the Barassie and Doonfoot stores are doing really well.

HOW WELL?

Sales in Doonfoot have almost trebled and Barrassie has seen growth of between 50% and 75% a week, even though we partially close it three days a week.

WHY DO YOU CLOSE IT?

It’s purely a safety issue. Our deliveries from the wholesaler are so big at the moment that we literally don’t have the space to restock the store and have customers wandering around the store at the same time as we can’t guarantee their safety, or that of our staff. So we close for a few hours three days a week which lets us get the store stocked back up safely and efficiently. Our customers have been really understanding.

AND YOUR HOME DELIVERY SERVICE IS FLYING?

It’s unbelievable, really. We introduced home delivery way before coronavirus as it was something I thought that had potential to grow both businesses. We went with Snappy Shopper and launched it only in Barrassie and it was doing really well. We were aiming to add around £3k a week to the sales. Then Covid-19 happened so we added it the service at Doonfoot too and for the last month or so we’ve doing about £10k a week in home delivery sales.

£5K IN EACH STORE?

No, £10k extra in both stores!

SO, AN EXTRA £80K A MONTH?

It’s crazy, isn’t it? The basket spend for home delivery is extraordinary. Barrassie’s average basket spend is £43 and in Doonfoot it’s £34.

HOW MANY DELIVERIES ARE YOU DOING?

We do around 70 a day for Barrassie and 35 a day at Doonfoot. There are extra costs, of course. We have three drivers at Barrassie, all people on furlough or who have been made redundant, so that’s quite a nice story too. And in Doonfoot we have two students. All of them have been trained in licensing to ensure they can properly check IDs on any orders with age-restricted products.

HOW MUCH DO YOU CHARGE FOR DELIVERY?

£3. And it’s opened up a whole new world for us. We do a lot of leafleting so we’re getting orders from three and four miles away, customers who would never have used us before. They’ve got stores closer to them but I guess they like the convenience of having their shopping delivered to their door for them. And we don’t hike prices, so they’re paying the same as they would if they came to the store, which will hopefully keep them using the service.

SO YOU SEE THIS IS A LONG TERM STRATEGY?

Definitely. As I say, we introduced it way before Covid-19 and I think we will retain a lot of our new home delivery customers. We’re not kidding ourselves on. Lots of people will go back to using supermarkets once this is all over but I think we’ll retain quite a few of them.

HOW ARE THE STORES THEMSELVES COPING?

We’re seeing huge spikes across lots of categories, particularly fresh and chilled. We always did a lot of fresh fruit and veg but it’s gone through the roof now. We have little availability issues here and there like everyone does, but we’re pretty much sorted for most things. We’ve also added plants and garden items out the front of both stores and they’re doing really well for us too. It’s the perfect time to get creative and innovative because customers really appreciate the effort you make.

AND YOU’VE PUT IN PLENTY OF EFFORT!

Well, I’m working seven days as a lot of retailers are, but we have a responsibility to our communities so that comes first. I’ll get a day off at some point!