The Week In Retail Issue 13

RETAIL

THE WEEK IN

RETAILER INTERVIEW

ASTHMA, NUNS AND BIG SALES

‘NORMAL’ STILL A LONG WAY OFF IN BELLSHILL FACE COVERINGS

FREE POS DOWNLOADS

FREE POSTERS AS MASKS GO MANDATORY IN ENGLAND STAYCATION BOOST AHEAD? DIAGEO’S PAPER BOTTLE SCOTLAND SHEDS SMOKING CROWN

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Issue 13 Wednesday 15th July 2020

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THE WEEK IN RETAIL

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

SHOPPER SAFETY KEY TO MAXIMISING FUTURE SALES Perhaps the most important question that local retailers are wrestling with at the moment is how, exactly, they make sure that customers don’t forget all they’ve learned during coronavirus and simply revert to their old ways in the future. Study after study shows that shoppers have genuinely appreciated the often superhuman efforts of their local retailer over the last few months and some of that goodwill has got to stick. But how much of it will, and for how long?

An even more fundamental issue, however, seems to be the huge concern that exists around being able to shop safely. That, for me, is an area all local retailers need to have absolutely nailed down if they are to give themselves a chance of retaining all that new footfall and also bring some new shoppers across the door – particularly those who might not be overly impressed by the social distancing and safety practices at their local supermarket or discounter.

That thought occurred to me again as I wrote the Scottish Tourism Index piece in this issue. Social distancing and safety are far and away the most important issues when it comes to how consumers choose the stores they are happy to shop in – and with smaller stores and more control over the environment, it seems to me that local retailers have the edge over their supermarket cousins when creating obviously safe places to shop.

At the end of the day, the range carried and the pricing and promotional structure don’t count for much if a customer isn’t even prepared to step inside. So while we’re pondering home delivery and food-to-go and all those other businessbuilding ideas, it makes sense to get the social distancing and safety practices rock solid first.

Safety will be a major concern – probably the major concern – for many shoppers for a long, long time.

ANTONYBEGLEY ANTONYBEGLEY ANTONYBEGLEY

ANTONY BEGLEY, EDITOR

WEDNESDAY 15TH JULY 2020 / ISSUE 13 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 3

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CONTENTS

WEDNESDAY 15TH JULY 2020 / ISSUE 13 WWW.SLRMAG.CO.UK

6

14 THIS WEEK’S NEWS IN BRIEF

20

HOW’S YOUR WEEK BEEN... ABDUL MAJID?

OPINION Home delivery gives retailers a massive opportunity to start building their own data strategy, says TWC Director Tom Fender.

A new Spar campaign champions independent retailers and Scots police fail to issue a single face mask fine.

Things will never be the same for the Bellshill Nisa retailer, who recently came to the rescue of some local nuns.

8 COVID-19 UPDATE

17 SMOKING HABITS

23 GIN FOR MAGGIE’S

10 FACE COVERING POSTERS

CHOOSE FROM A DOWNLOADABLE SELECTION OF POSTERS FOR YOUR STORE.

12 INSIGHT: BARCLAYCARD REPORT

CONSUMER SPENDING IS STILL FALLING, BUT THE RATE OF DECLINE IS SLOWING.

TWITTER.COM/SLRMAG

NEW FIGURES REVEAL SCOTLAND IS NO LONGER THE UK’S SMOKING CAPITAL.

18 OUT THE BOX: PAPER BOTTLES

DIAGEO UNVEILS A 100% PLASTIC-FREE PAPER-BASED SPIRITS BOTTLE.

19 PICKS OF THE WEEK

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SLRMAG

CANCER CHARITY SEEKS RETAILERS TO HELP WITH A NOVEL ONLINE FUNDRAISER.

24 INSIGHT: STAYCATIONS

NEW RESEARCH SUGGESTS A STAYCATION BOOST MAY BE JUST AROUND THE CORNER FOR LOCAL RETAILERS.

WWW.SLRMAG.CO.UK

WEDNESDAY 15TH JULY 2020 / ISSUE 13 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 5

NEWS DIGEST

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

NEWS LETTER The NFRN and ACS have raised concerns about the future of the newspaper supply chain in a joint letter to the Minister of State for Media

SYMBOL GROUPS

SPAR CAMPAIGN URGES SHOPPERS ‘NOT TO RETURN TO THEIR OLD WAYS’

and Data, John Whittingdale

SPAR HAS LAUNCHED A NEW DIGITAL CAMPAIGN CELEBRATING

MP. The letter outlined areas

INDEPENDENT RETAILERS AND ENCOURAGING SHOPPERS TO

that need to be addressed for

CONTINUE TO BUY LOCALLY.

the supply chain to operate more efficiently and effectively, including carriage service charges, requested delivery times, territorial protection and coupon redemption processes.

LIDL EXPANDS Lidl plans to open four new stores in Scotland over the next 12 months including stores in Rosyth, Finnieston

Spar has unveiled a digital campaign to encourage consumers to continue supporting local independent retailers.

The campaign sees a video featured on Facebook and Instagram and includes advice on how stores can continue to support their local communities. The video has ready been viewed over 2.2 million times and urges customers not to go back to their old ways and explains how Spar retailers and stores are there for communities.

“Family-owned stores on your doorstep or at the end of the phone, doing what they can to help because you’re not just customers, you’re neighbours and these days we’re more of a community than ever and we will keep being there for each other,” it says.

The second part of the campaign features 50 independent Spar retailers from all over the UK and will run until September on all major social media channels.

and Robroyston. It has also revealed a list of 28 ‘sites of interest’ across the country.

NISA ’APPY More than 1,000 retailers have signed up for the new Nisa mobile app since it launched two weeks ago. The app has been downloaded and registered on almost 2,000 devices as retailers make use of both mobile phones and tablets to benefit from the new technology. Around 2,200 standard orders have been placed directly via the app.

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SCOTMID EXTENDS SNAPPY SNAPPY PARTNERSHIP Snappy Shopper is launching with Scotmid in Edinburgh following pilots in West Lothian, North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire. Around onefifth of Scotland’s population can now take advantage of the service.

Scotmid will offer over 1,000 product lines via the Snappy Shopper app and website which are picked, packed and delivered within an hour.

Delivery slots are made available every 24 hours and booked on a firstcome, first-served basis. The concept gives Scotmid a point of difference over other larger retailers, whose

online home delivery services are often booked up days in advance.

Scotmid’s Stewart Dobbie said: “The positive feedback we receive daily from customers in areas where Snappy Shopper is in place supported our decision to expand the offering.”

NEWS DIGEST

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

LAW ENFORCEMENT

ZERO FACE MASK FINES ON FIRST WEEKEND

BORDERS £1M DEAL Independent biscuit maker Border Biscuits has secured £1m of private investment

NOT A SINGLE FINE ISSUED FOR FAILING TO WEAR FACE

to expand its operations,

COVERINGS IN STORES IN SCOTLAND ON FIRST WEEKEND AFTER

helping it to secure a listing

NEW RULES INTRODUCED.

with Morrisons. 182 Morrisons stores will now carry the newly

Last Friday saw it become a criminal offence for consumers to enter a Scottish convenience store without a face covering but it has emerged that not a single fine was issued by the police in Scotland over the weekend.

Enforcing the new law is the responsibility of the police, with retailers not obliged to enforce it or refuse entry to shoppers who fail to comply.

It is not clear whether the lack of fines is dues to a tolerant approach by the police on the first weekend or whether it indicates an inability to police the new law in around 5,000 stores spread right across the country.

launched Dark Chocolate Ginger Biscuit Bars.

ALDI DELIVEROO TRIAL Aldi is doubling its trial of a grocery delivery service with Deliveroo into 11 further stores including five more in London as well as stores in Manchester and Cambridge.

Customers can choose from around 200 grocery items, delivered in as little as 30 minutes.

UK SHOP FOOTFALL CONTINUES TO FREE FALL UK shop footfall continues to plummet, despite three weeks having passed since non-essential stores could re-open. The latest ShopperTrak data shows that footfall fell by almost 50% year-on-year in the third week with many consumers reluctant to return to physical shopping amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. This follows a

decline of 53.4% in the previous week.

Slightly more encouragingly, total retail footfall went up 15.3% weekon-week in this period although the much-touted ‘super Saturday’ on 4 July – when pubs and restaurants reopened – turned out to be something of a damp squib with UK footfall up only 9.2% week-on-week.

SPAR SANITISER Spar has developed an automatic hand sanitiser unit to be rolled out to stores in England, Scotland and Wales.

The sturdy unit and highlights support for the NHS. In Northern Ireland, Henderson Group has invested over £1m in health and safety measures including hands-free sanitiser dispensers to help keep hygiene levels as a top priority.

WEDNESDAY 15TH JULY 2020 / ISSUE 13 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 7

NEWS SPECIAL

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

PHASE 3 IN SCOTLAND: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

BOOTS CUTS STAFF Boots has announced plans to cut around 7% of its workforce within retail, head office and opticians in order to mitigate the impact of Covid-19.

FURLOUGH FRAUD HMRC investigations are now under way to claw back money from fraudulent claims made to the government’s

THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT HAS BEGUN IMPLEMENTING PHASE 3 OF ITS STAGED EXIT FROM LOCKDOWN PLAN WITH IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR LOCAL RETAILERS.

S

furlough scheme. One man was reportedly arrested on suspicion of defrauding the scheme out of nearly half a million pounds.

TESTING EXTENDED The Department of Health and Social Care has announced

cotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said last week that coronavirus had been suppressed to a “low level”, allowing Scotland to enter Phase 3 of the stepped exit from lockdown. Some key elements of Phase 3 include: Q People are allowed to meet up in extended groups outdoors, and with two other households indoors.

Q Exemptions to the 2m physical distancing rule were also introduced, although the use of face coverings in shops will be mandatory.

Q Indoor areas of bars and restaurants can reopen today.

Q Couples who do not live together no longer have to physically distance.

Q Shopping centres were able to reopen from Monday and dentists and optometrists are now allowed to begin scaling up their work again.

Q Hairdressers and barbers will also resume business today – along with libraries, museums and cinemas.

Q Personal retail services like beauticians and nail salons can start up from next Wednesday.

Q Universities and colleges can implement a phased return from next Wednesday, while schools are due to reopen from 11 August.

that shop workers in some areas and businesses will be tested for Covid-19 as part of a new pilot, even though they have no symptoms.

WASTE NOT Zero Waste Scotland has launched an online matchmaking service to “rescue food” that would otherwise be wasted during Covid-19.

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C-STORES TO BENEFIT FROM VAT CUT Local retailers will indeed benefit from the reduced rate of VAT on specific food and drink sales. Confusion arose after the Chancellor announced that the rate of VAT would be cut from 20% to 5% on eat-in or hot takeaway food but failed to clarify whether convenience stores would be eligible for the cut.

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) and the Scottish Grocers’

Federation Promptly sought clarity on the issue.

ACS Chief Executive James Lowman welcomed the confirmation from the government: “Food service is a significant growth area in the convenience sector which will receive even more of a boost during the reduced VAT period, and with customers able to eat food at tables put outside the store.”

NEWS SPECIAL

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

CUSTOMERS TO WEAR FACE MASKS IN ENGLAND, BUT NOT STAFF

FACE MASK COMPLIANCE SOLUTION

WEARING A FACE COVERING IN SHOPS IN ENGLAND IS TO BECOME

N

MANDATORY FROM NEXT FRIDAY, ALTHOUGH THE NEW RULE WILL NOT APPLY TO STORE STAFF.

PoS Insights has developed a new system that is able to capture, analyse and report on face mask compliance in-store, either in a single site or across a retailer’s estate.

ext Friday will see England following the lead set in Scotland as face masks become compulsory for customers in all stores, with those who fail to comply facing a fine of up to £100. The move will bring England into line with Scotland, although the rules in England will not apply to store staff.

Just are there are north of the border, there will be exemptions including children under 11 and those with certain disabilities.

“It is about managing the overall risk,” said Environment Secretary George Eustice. “Any type of covering will be sufficient for this purpose.”

The delay between the announcement and the rule coming into force next Friday has been designed to give customers time to prepare.

Retailers will not be expected to enforce the new rules, a task that lies with the police, although store staff will be “encouraged” to prompt customers to comply.

In Scotland, police did not issue a single fine across Scotland over the first weekend of compulsory face coverings.

Some seven in 10 consumers plan on continuing to use convenience store delivery services more in the future, even after Covid-19 has passed, according to new research from HIM & MCA Insight. Less positively, well over half of consumers (59%) say they are unaware that convenience stores offer home delivery services.

Only 6% plan on using home delivery less frequently. Amongst current nonusers, 46% say they will start using convenience store delivery services in the future, highlighting the opportunity to widen the active consumer base.

The three biggest barriers to consumers using on-demand convenience are product cost, delivery fees and wanting to walk to store.

TECH SOLUTIONS

70% TO STICK WITH HOME DELIVERY

The system makes use of a store’s existing CCTV network and can highlight the number of people within a store as well as how many are wearing suitable face coverings.

The London-based firm says its software does not violate EU data privacy laws as its technology “doesn’t identify people and no CCTV feed or imagery is stored or transmitted”.

To find out more, visit www.pos-insights.com.

WEDNESDAY 15TH JULY 2020 / ISSUE 13 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 9

RESOURCES

FACE MASK POSTERS DIRECT DOWNLOAD OPTIONS

NEED FACE MASK POSTERS? TAKE YOUR PICK...

WITH FACE COVERINGS ALREADY MANDATORY IN SCOTLAND AND STORES IN ENGLAND SET TO

W

FOLLOW SUIT NEXT FRIDAY, IT’S VITAL TO REMIND CUSTOMERS OF THEIR NEW OBLIGATIONS.

hile many retailers and retail industry bodies view the mandatory wearing of face masks in-store as tantamount to an invitation to theft, both the Scottish and UK Governments have chosen to introduce new rules forcing all customers to wear masks instore.

Retail staff in Scotland (with some exceptions) are also obliged to wear face coverings in-store while the rules in England, which come into force next Friday, do not require store staff to wear masks.

Note that retailers will not be obliged to police the wearing of masks in-store although in England the vague wording of the advice states that store staff should “encourage” customers to comply with the new rules.

One simple way of reminding customers that wearing face coverings is now mandatory is by displaying posters and POS in-store.

Several trade bodies have already produced professionally designed posters that retailers can simply download and print. Here are a few examples:

10 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 13 / WEDNESDAY 15TH JULY 2020

Phase 3

FACE COVERINGS MUST BE WORN IN SCOTLAND’S SHOPS AND ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT Remember, you can have coronavirus but show no symptoms, so a face covering reduces the risk of you unknowingly infecting others.

YOU MUST WEAR A FACE COVERING

OPEN

By wearing one in shops and on public transport you can feel confident that you’re helping to protect yourself, staff and others.

Remember

FA C T S

Remember

FA C T S for a safer Scotland

Phase 3

Face coverings

Avoid crowded places

Clean your hands regularly

Two metre Self isolate and distance

book a test if you have symptoms

gov.scot/coronavirus

Face coverings

for a safer Scotland

Avoid crowded places

gov.scot/coronavirus

1

Clean your hands regularly

Two metre Self isolate and distance

book a test if you have symptoms

2

We must all wear a face mask to shop in this store

We must all wear a face mask to shop in this store

Supported by

Supported by

3

4 DOWNLOAD #1 DOWNLOAD #2 DOWNLOAD #3 DOWNLOAD #4

Thank you for wearing a face covering © ACS 2020. Design by www.fluiddesignstudio.com

DOWNLOAD #5 DOWNLOAD #6 5

6

Learn more at tomra.com/uk

We make deposit return systems work for everyone.

TOMRA reverse vending machines collect 40 billion containers every year, keeping bottles in the Clean Loop and out of the oceans.

We look forward to helping retailers in Scotland get ready for the forthcoming deposit return scheme.

COVID-19 SPECIAL

CONSUMER SPENDING BARCLAYCARD

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE CORONAVIRUS TUNNEL? THE LATEST MONTHLY BARCLAYCARD REPORT WAS PUBLISHED YESTERDAY AND SHOWS THAT CONSUMER SPENDING FELL ONCE AGAIN IN JUNE, BUT WITH THE SMALLEST DECLINE SINCE

A

LOCKDOWN BEGAN. IS THE BEGINNING OF THE END IN SIGHT, ASKS ANTONY BEGLEY?

14.5% decline in consumer spending isn’t something that would normally be celebrated, but under current circumstances the fact that spending only fell that far in June actually represents a positive shift. This is the smallest decline in consumer spending since lockdown began, as recorded by Barclaycard’s monthly Consumer Spending Report.

The report is based on Barclaycard’s own data, which includes hundreds of millions of transactions and covers nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card activity, so is pretty robust.

While the decline in spending seems to be halting, month-on-month figures now show an uplift as more

FASTSTATS Q Q Q Q Q Q Q

and more retail outlets start reopening. So is the light at the end of the tunnel starting to appear on the horizon?

SAFETY THE STOPPER While there’s no denying that the latest figures represent some sort of progress, there are plenty of signs that the road to recovery is going to be more of a slow burn than an overnight explosion. Over half of consumers (56%) are continuing to avoid the shops. Three in 10 (31%) admit to delaying shopping because they are afraid of getting or spreading coronavirus, while 18% say they are put off by crowds.

In other words, it’s safety and hygiene concerns that are the biggest blocker for shoppers at this point,

14.5% decline in consumer spending in June 6.6% increase on spending on essential items in June online grocery spend up 105.9% YOY 56% of shoppers still avoiding shops 18% encouraged to return thanks to new social distancing rules 30% of consumers not planning a foreign holiday this year 41% have job security concerns

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COVID-19 SPECIAL

CONSUMER SPENDING BARCLAYCARD

which is reflected in upweighting of in-store safety precautions by most retailers. The report found that new social distancing rules are indeed succeeding in providing some reassurance, with nearly a fifth (18%) more likely to return to shops because of these precautions.

ECONOMIC FACTORS The report also indicates that shoppers may be able to allocate more of their spending power to retail thanks to many shoppers staying at home rather than talking holidays – 30% say they are not expecting to go away at all this year – while even those that are planning a holiday say they will spend less. Over half (54%) of those planning a holiday intend to cut some corners.

A related concern is job security, with 41% of those surveyed having issues on this front.

Similarly, general consumer confidence in the UK economy remains very low at just 20%.

JUNE SALES So what exactly happened in June? Well, according to the report, spending on essential items grew 6.6%, a chunky 5.7% increase on the previous month where the increase was just 0.9%.

The bad news for local retailers is that this was largely driven by shopping in supermarkets, with the category rising by 25.7% overall – its sharpest since the start of the year.

Online grocery spend also jumped significantly by 105.9% year-on-year, as demand for home deliveries saw supermarkets increase their available slots for online orders.

Fuel spend continued to tank with an overall decline of 33.8%, although this was admittedly an improvement on the previous month when sales fell a smidgen under 50%.

Spending on non-essential items also struggled badly, falling 22.3% against a decline of 36.9% in

May, the improvement largely down to the reopening of non-essential shops.

WHO’S WINNING? It will surprise few to learn that the most remarkable upturns on month-on-month growth were seen across home improvement and DIY, up 31.3% compared to a 3.2% in May. Perhaps less predictably, furniture sales have also risen solidly by 17.6% in June against a 28.2% decline in May. Spending on electronics also saw a sharp increase, up 14.3% year-on-year as the return of live sport led to increased purchases of home entertainment.

Brits are also clearly embracing more active lifestyles as spending at sports and outdoor retailers rose a significant 50% in the week of 14 to 20 June – when general shops were able to reopen – compared to last year. This also represents their best month of the year so far, with an improvement of 24.4% compared to May’s growth.

While overall spending on eating and drinking declined by 56.4% year-on-year, this represents a less steep drop than May (70.3%). Takeaways and fast food rose for the first time since pre-lockdown with a 5.7% yearly growth, as restaurants, pubs and cafes continued to establish takeaway and delivery services and Brits enjoyed al-fresco dining with friends.

Esme Harwood, Director at Barclaycard, said: “While shoppers remain understandably cautious, slowly but surely Brits are starting to spend again.

It also seems shoppers are generally reassured by retailer efforts to take precautions and make their stores safer. As lockdown eases and Brits are encouraged to enjoy summer safely, it’s clear that people are making the most of a sense of normality again, with many of us travelling to see friends and family, eating al-fresco, and taking day trips.”

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RETAILER INTERVIEW

ABDUL MAJID NISA NORTH RD, BELLSHILL

HOW’S YOUR WEEK BEEN...

ABDUL MAJID?

BUSINESS IS SLOWLY RETURNING TO ‘NORMAL’ AT ABDUL MAJID’S NISA STORE IN BELLSHILL BUT THE EXPERIENCED RETAILER BELIEVES THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN AFTER CORONAVIRUS.

HOW’S YOUR WEEK BEEN, ABDUL? It’s been crazy as ever but there are more and more signs that things are very slowly starting to return to what we used to call ‘normal’ although to be honest I don’t see things ever being the same again in retail.

ARE SALES RETURNING TO MORE NORMAL LEVELS THEN? They’re definitely starting to slow down a little bit, but we’re still miles away from what used to be normal. At the peak of coronavirus we were trading about 100% up but in recent weeks that has started to tail off a bit. Having said that, last week’s numbers were probably still about 75% above what we would traditionally have done, so we’re still doing really well.

HOW SLOW IS THE DECLINE AND HOW SLOW DO YOU SEE IT BEING?

“I’ve been in local retailing for 40 years and in all that time I’ve never had to re-merchandise the store so often.”

14 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 13 / WEDNESDAY 15TH JULY 2020

I would say we’re probably losing maybe 2% or 3% a week at the moment, so it’s very much a gradual reduction rather than a sharp decline. I think it’s going to be a long, long time before we get back to old levels and, if I’m honest, I don’t know if things will ever go back to normal.

HOW HAVE THE LAST FEW MONTHS BEEN FOR YOU? April and May were chaos. Because coronavirus kicked in so quickly nobody had any time to prepare for it. Availability became a huge issue but that was true for every retailer and every wholesaler. Nisa did everything they could but they

RETAILER INTERVIEW

ABDUL MAJID NISA NORTH RD, BELLSHILL

were in the same boat as every other wholesaler and they had to learn to adapt and evolve quicker than they’d ever had to before. But they did a good job and so did a lot of the manufacturers who quickly dropped slower selling lines so they could concentrate on the lines that retailers and customers wanted. By the time we got to June we were in good shape and now we’re more or less back to where we need to be.

DID IT CAUSE CHALLENGES IN THE STORE? Well, I’ve been in local retailing for 40 years and in all that time I’ve never had to re-merchandise the store so often. You couldn’t have gaps on the shelves so we had to re-merchandise throughout the store more or less constantly to keep it looking good and to give focus to the lines that shoppers wanted.

DID YOU SEE PANIC BUYING? Yes, on the usual lines like toilet rolls, pasta and flour.

That was what was really causing the problem. But once the novelty had worn off for shoppers, we quickly went back to decent availability and we’ve been able to manage it reasonably well ever since.

DID YOU SEE ANY UNUSUAL TRENDS? We went overnight from selling all the standard convenience lines to selling a huge amount of grocery, which we haven’t done in a long time. Tins and packets and stuff like that. But, having said that, pretty much every category in the store has been selling solidly.

Chilled has been flying, fresh is the same, alcohol is trading way up – everything sells at the moment!

YOU KEPT YOUR HOT FOOD COUNTER OPEN? Yes, but on a limited menu. We have three staff on it and two had asthma so we had to furlough them and we were left with just one. We reduced the opening hours to 8am to 6pm and offered a smaller menu but we

kept it open and it’s been flying. More recently, our two furloughed staff returned so we could extend the hours and increase the menu. It’s been absolutely bonkers.

Breakfast and lunch are hectic.

ANY OTHER STAFF ISSUES? We’ve been quite lucky for a number of reasons. One, my team has been absolutely brilliant and I can’t thank them enough for their efforts and commitment.

Secondly, we didn’t have to recruit new staff because many of our part-time staff are students so they could all move to full-time. That meant we avoided all the headaches of recruiting new staff and training them.

That was a massive help. All the local takeaway food places like Greggs were closed so we got a lot of that trade too.

HOW HAS THE FACE MASK SITUATION BEEN GOING? I know that some retailers have been reporting that very few customers have been wearing coverings but I’d say that about 90% of our customers have been compliant.

It’s quite a strange thing for customers to get used to.

Some just honestly forget so we remind them at the till and they’ll usually take a mask and put it on there and then. There are some folk who just point-blank refuse, but it’s not our job to enforce the law so we simply remind them and leave it at that. I don’t want my team getting into arguments. The one thing I would say is that we get lots of trade workers in for their breakfast and lunch; I’ve never known so many workies to claim to have asthma!

TELL US ABOUT YOUR NUNS Ha ha! We have two convents near us which the nuns aren’t allowed to leave, so we got a panic call one day at the start of lockdown asking if we could deliver groceries to them. They were literally running out of food. We were only too happy to help and we’ve been delivering to them ever since.

WEDNESDAY 15TH JULY 2020 / ISSUE 13 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 15

RETAILER INTERVIEW

ABDUL MAJID NISA NORTH RD, BELLSHILL

DO YOU OFFER A HOME DELIVERY SERVICE? We do. It started out more as a community service for elderly and infirm or for those self-isolating. We got together with a local church, St Gerard’s, that wanted to help. Together we identified those in the community that needed help. The priest even delivered the groceries, so it was quite a nice thing to do. Then another church, Sacred Heart, got in touch and said they wanted to get involved too. They’re at the other end of Bellshill so it meant we were covering the whole of the area. The churches gave small donations and we raised some funds in various ways which let us help those that need a little help.

delivery and so on but coronavirus has made us all deal with them much quicker and that’s got to be a good thing for our sector. It’s obviously made a lot easier because of the inflated sales so we can afford to move a bit quicker on new initiatives, but it’s important that we do make use of these additional sales in a positive way that will have a long- term beneficial impact on our businesses.

DO YOU USE A DELIVERY APP? No, we decided to give the business to a local company, Deliver Bellshill, which is run by a family friend. It’s just a small business but it gave them some work and it kept the revenue locally. Customers just log onto their website which then takes them to our product list and they can order that way. I know we could do much more business with one of the apps like Snappy Shopper but for the minute, we want to just keep it as a community initiative.

ANYTHING INTERESTING IN THE PIPELINE? We’re working on producing a range of ready meals that we make ourselves here in store. We’ll package and flash chill them ourselves which should help us grow evening sales. The hot food counter is a huge success at breakfast and lunch so we’re working on growing evening sales and we hope this will accelerate that.

AH, CORONAVIRUS, THE GREAT ACCELERATOR… Absolutely. It’s been a horrendous time, but it has forced us to speed everything up. Retailers were all looking at improving areas of their business like food-to-go, home

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SO LIFE’S GOOD? I would say that, exactly! It’s been just frantic and we’ve basically just been trying to keep our head above water for months – but we’ve learned a lot and I think our customers have also learned a lot about how important their wee local store is to them. I hope they remember that long into the future.

INSIGHT

SMOKING HABITS OFFICE OF NATIONAL STATISTICS

SCOTLAND SHEDS SMOKING CAPITAL CROWN IN A REMARKABLE TURN OF EVENTS THAT HAS GONE LARGELY UNNOTICED, THE LATEST DATA FROM THE OFFICE OF NATIONAL STATISTICS SHOWS THAT SCOTLAND HAS SHED ITS UNWANTED CROWN AS

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SMOKING CAPITAL OF THE UK.

t all happened without much fanfare, but Scotland has finally lost its unenviable crown of being the smoking capital of the UK, according to new data published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

An ONS study, Adult Smoking Habits in the UK 2019, found that the proportion of over-18s in Scotland who smoked stood at 15.4% last year. The number has fallen consistently since 2011, when it stood at 23.4%.

The dubious distinction of being the UK’s smoking capital now passes across the water to Northern Ireland – although, at 15.6% of the population, it’s barely possible to separate the two countries with a cigarette paper.

England has the lowest prevalence (13.9%) while the number in Wales sits only slightly behind Scotland at 15.5%.

Taken as a whole, 14.1% of the UK’s adults are smokers – some 6.9 million people.

The survey also put the number of vapers at nearly three million, or 5.7% of the population.

However, the bad news for the Vaping category is that this is down from 6.3% in 2018, although ONS number crunchers said the difference was not “statistically significant”.

What is significant is that the category has effectively stalled. When the ONS started collecting data on the use of e-cigarettes in 2014, only 3.7% of the population vaped. After two subsequent years of increases, there has been no real rise since 2016, when the figure stood at 5.6%.

In response, the UK Vaping Industry Association

(UKVIA) has called on the UK and Scottish Governments to ‘fast-track’ vaping to help the UK meet its smoke-free target years, which looks increasingly unrealistic.

According to UKVIA, “the Government still has a massive job to meet its smoke-free target by 2030 for England alone, with some 6.9m adults still smoking across the UK as a whole”.

UKIVIA Director John Dunne commented: “It’s now high time that Government and its relevant agencies fast track vaping take-up among existing smokers to realise its smoke-free vision for the UK. “The Government has an opportunity to bring VAT on vaping (20%) in line with Nicotine Replacement Therapy products, which has a VAT rate of 5%. At the same time the Department for Health and Social Care and the NHS also have a pivotal role to play in supporting vaping on the healthcare estate and to enhancing the vaping knowledge of doctors so they are well informed to provide best advice on how their patients, who smoke and otherwise do not quit, can make the switch.

“The ONS figures show that a majority of smokers (52.7%) want to quit cigarettes and we believe they deserve the best tools to do it – and vaping needs to be very much part of the toolbox.”

Dunne also voiced his organisation’s satisfaction that, according to the ONS figures, of those who have never smoked just 0.4% vape.

WEDNESDAY 1ST JULY 2020 / ISSUE 11 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 17

NOW THAT’S A GOOD IDEA…

OUT THE BOX PLASTIC-FREE PAPER SPIRIT BOTTLE

PAPER PROFITS DIAGEO UNVEILS THE WORLD’S FIRST PLASTIC-FREE PAPER-BASED SPIRITS BOTTLE, TO BE DEBUTED ON JOHNNIE WALKER FROM EARLY 2021.

WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA? The world’s first 100% plastic-free paper-based bottle created to hold spirits.

HOW’S IT MADE?

categories with launch partners including PepsiCo and Unilever, with more to be announced late in the year.

SO WE’LL BE SEEING MORE PAPER-BASED BOTTLES?

It’s fully recyclable and is made entirely from sustainablysourced wood pulp by a new partnership called Pulpex, a company set up by Diageo and venture management outfit Pilot Lite.

Yes, all partners intend to launch their own branded paper bottles based on Pulpex’s technology.

IS IT ACTUALLY GOING INTO FULL-SCALE PRODUCTION?

ACHIEVE?

WHAT IS THE PARTNERSHIP HOPING TO

It will be used for the first time in early 2021 for Johnnie Walker, the world’s number one Scotch whisky.

The technology will allow brands to rethink their packaging designs, or move existing designs into paper, whilst not compromising on the existing quality of the product.

WHY IS DIAGEO DOING THIS?

WHAT ARE DIAGEO SAYING?

The paper bottle forms part of Diageo’s commitment towards Goal 12 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’.

Ewan Andrew, Chief Sustainability Officer at Diageo, said: “We’re proud to have created this world first. We are constantly striving to push the boundaries within sustainable packaging and this bottle has the potential to be truly ground-breaking.

It feels fitting that we should launch it with Johnnie Walker, a brand that has often led the way in innovation throughout its 200 years existence.”

HOW DOES PULPEX WORK? Essentially, it’s a partnership consortium between some of the world’ biggest FMCG companies from non-competing

18 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 13 / WEDNESDAY 15TH JULY 2020

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WEDNESDAY 15TH JULY 2020 / ISSUE 13 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 19

OPINION

HOME DELIVERY & DATA TOM FENDER, DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, TWC

USE HOME DELIVERY TO KICKSTART YOUR DATA STRATEGY

WITH HOME DELIVERY NOW STANDARD FOR THE VAST MAJORITY OF LOCAL RETAILERS, THIS REPRESENTS A MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY TO USE THE SERVICE AS A CATALYST TO START BUILDING

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YOUR OWN DATA STRATEGY, ARGUES TWC DIRECTOR TOM FENDER.

ome delivery and click and collect have both been in the spotlight recently, with retailers offering consumers these services, often as supermarkets struggled to meet demand. Our ‘Forging a New Future for Convenience’ report last month (request a free copy) highlighted that 26% of UK consumers had ordered products from their convenience store during the lockdown. Put into context, 26% equals 13 million people.

20 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 13 / WEDNESDAY 15TH JULY 2020

That’s roughly the same number of people in the UK who watch Netflix.

Our research finds 55% of retailers plan to launch or retain home delivery or click-and-collect. For some, a basic rudimentary offer might still be perfectly fine.

IT’LL DO THE JOB Convenience retailers got their home delivery/click and

OPINION

HOME DELIVERY & DATA TOM FENDER, DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, TWC

collect services up and running virtually overnight. Some quicker than that. Many were quite rudimentary solutions, but that was perfectly OK, at the time, as any system which worked was acceptable on such short notice. But now we can start to reflect on the future. And decide how best to offer these services on an ongoing basis.

But other retailers might want to think bigger. Several companies offer retailers offthe-shelf apps for capturing click and collect/home delivery orders. These solutions might be perfectly fine for many retailers. But there are some retailers who might think this is a ‘once in a long-time’ opportunity to think broader and bolder.

THE BIGGER PICTURE When it comes to digital, it’s better to think holistically than piecemeal. People can sometimes get overwhelmed and/ or intimidated by the notion of having to build ‘a holistic integrated digital strategy’, an idea that can seem shrouded in mystique. That means, for many retailers, they need a solution that grows alongside their offering, not an off-theshelf product.

“26% of UK consumers have ordered products from their convenience store during lockdown, equating to 13 million people, about the same number of people who watch Netflix.”

What we do know is that in addition to the 55% of retailers who want to launch or retain home delivery/click and collect services, 73% of retailers now recognise data is going to be

an important element of their future strategy.

While increasing revenues by offering home delivery is very attractive, operators should also – in our opinion – see the opportunity to gather data as being more attractive.

RETAILERS DON’T NEED TO CHOOSE Fifty-nine per cent of consumers recognise that their convenience store is important to their community, and retailers can benefit from this goodwill. Whether loyalty schemes actually make people more loyal is a much-discussed issue… but we know that the data they provide is invaluable.

In essence, a customer orders products from their convenience store online. We know that 84% of consumers want to order products online. Fourteen per cent want to do so via telephone. Retailers are then able to build up huge amounts of knowledge about each customer if the customer opens an account. Each transaction is logged.

Buying patterns and purchase histories are built up and are entirely transparent – we can see exactly what customer X has ordered over the last 12 weeks. This data helps us build up a profile of that customer. It also allows retailers to cluster customers with similar buying patterns.

Someone working at the retailer’s business could be watching the data and spotting trends but also opportunities: “This shopper used to buy product Y but they don’t seem to be doing so now – let’s send them a promotion voucher to incentivise them to buy this product again.”

Or: “We can see that other shoppers who bought product Y also bought product Z – so let’s suggest that to this shopper.”

It also helps identify whether shoppers are shopping more often with the retailer (retailers can reward this) or less often (retailers can try to attract them back).

Therefore, the major question in all of this is not just the digital roll-out, but the ownership of the data the digital rollout generates.

Data is the new oil in the convenience and wholesale channel. It’s time for retailers to start drilling.

WEDNESDAY 15TH JULY 2020 / ISSUE 13 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 21

CHARITY

GIN MASTERCLASS PACK MAGGIES SCOTLAND

MAGGIE’S GIN COCKTAILS MASTERCLASS – GET INVOLVED! SCOTTISH CANCER CARE CHARITY MAGGIE’S IS LOOKING FOR RETAILERS IN SCOTLAND WILLING TO SELL ‘GIN MASTERCLASS PACKS’ TO SHOPPERS TO ALLOW THEM TO JOIN IN A FANTASTIC ONLINE

O

EVENT THAT WILL HELP SUPPORT THE CHARITY’S WORK.

utstanding Scottish cancer care charity Maggie’s is on the lookout for retailers in Scotland willing to help with a special online Hendrick’s Masterclass of Gin Cocktails aimed at their shoppers.

To get involved, all retailers have to do is stock the specially prepared pack and promote it to their shoppers in-store. The pack includes everything your customers will need for an enlightening and enjoyable experience, including: Q a 70cl bottle of Hendrick’s Gin Q a bottle of Magners Q mixers (soda water, apple juice, ginger beer, lemonade, elderflower cordial) Q garnishes (lemon, cucumber) The pack also includes customer-facing POS you can site

in-store and post on social media to encourage your shoppers to take part.

All they have to do is buy the pack from you and they’re ready to join what promises to be an amazing virtual event.

With gin still the biggest trend in spirits, and cocktails a summer favourite, there are bound to be many of your shoppers who would like to hear from the gin experts at William Grant & Sons. The spirits producer has kindly agreed to support and host the event, with all funds going to bolster Maggie’s centres in Scotland. The money raised will help Maggie’s continue to support people living with cancer in these very challenging times.

The event will be presented by the International Ambassador for Hendrick’s and the Master Blender, offering shoppers a unique chance to hear from the people who actually make Hendrick’s gin.

TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO GET INVOLVED, EMAIL ABDUL MAJID AT UMARAISHA@AOL.COM

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INSIGHT

TOURISM 56 DEGREE INSIGHT SCOTTISH TOURISM INDEX

STAYCATION BOOST ON HORIZON FOR SCOTTISH RETAILERS? WITH THE TOURISM INDUSTRY RE-OPENING IN SCOTLAND TODAY, THE LATEST RESEARCH FROM THE 56 DEGREE INSIGHT SCOTTISH TOURISM INDEX SUGGESTS A STAYCATION BOOST MAY BE ON ITS WAY FOR RETAILERS.

S

cottish tourism officially re-opens today, which will be a blessing for many and curse for some – but the latest research from Edinburgh-based 56 Degree Insight suggests many Scots will choose to holiday in Scotland this year with significant potential benefits for local retailers across the country.

The research for wave three of the monthly Scottish Tourism Index was carried out just last week, so the

data is as fresh as it gets, and much of it will make for positive reading for the nation’s retailers.

In essence, the Index attempts to understand how the Scottish adult population feels about tourism and leisure during the Covid-19 pandemic.

HOW SCOTS FEEL ABOUT TRAVEL In May, the Index saw a broad spectrum of opinion across the population – from those feeling extremely

WEDNESDAY 15TH JULY 2020 / ISSUE 13 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 23

INSIGHT

TOURISM 56 DEGREE INSIGHT SCOTTISH TOURISM INDEX

THE SCOTTISH TOURISM INDEX

Run by Edinburgh-based 56 Degree Insight, the third wave of the Scottish Tourism Index was conducted using Populus Data Solutions’ online panel and was based on a nationally representative sample of the Scottish adult population. Over 1,500 interviews were completed over the last three months including 505 interviews between 6-8 July 2020.

nervy about the prospect of travel (around 11%) to those who couldn’t wait to travel again (around 17%) – and everything in between.

In June, safety and hygiene concerns became uppermost in minds with the majority (90%) not prepared to consider travelling outside of the UK. Last week’s survey has seen these same concerns still very prevalent: Q The removal of self-quarantine requirements for certain destinations appears to be having very minimal impact. Some 89% of Scots would still be unlikely to travel overseas.

Q Almost four in every five Scots would be very unlikely to travel by air for a holiday or break in 2020 (78%).

Q Some 9 in 10 Scots are put off even taking a holiday south of the border this summer (87%).

STAYCATION APPEAL With growing concerns about travelling, for most Scots a staycation is much more appealing than travelling elsewhere in the UK or going overseas this year.

The Index found that trips to rural parts of Scotland are marginally more appealing to most than trips to the coast or seaside and much more appealing than Scottish city breaks. Day trips from home remain of greatest appeal in the short term for most, and though there is still reticence to visit cities, day trips to the likes of Glasgow and Edinburgh are likely to be where the visitor economies in these locations have the greatest initial benefits.

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SAFETY PARAMOUNT In all three waves of the survey, it became clear that a new world of attitudes and choices is emerging when it comes to holidays in Scotland, with a particular focus on physical distancing: Q For a Scottish holiday, feeling safe was a key driver of choice (17%) – hence the appeal of visiting places easy to reach from home (16%) and where there is a low incidence of the virus (specifically mentioned by 15%).

Q Similar proportions would seek somewhere quiet, away from the crowds, emphasising the appeal of rural areas.

Q Over four in five (83%) stated that they would only visit tourism facilities which had been checked and endorsed as safe and following best practice Covid-19 hygiene.

Q With much of the population suffering financially, we should also not overlook the importance of affordability – 14% mentioned the importance of price and value.

With 1m distancing now permissible in certain situations so long as a number of other mitigations are in place, a key question is whether the old 2m rule should be retained, as the Index suggests it’s important to a lot of tourists: Q For most tourists, the greatest comfort remains with 2m distancing – 90% of those planning a holiday in Scotland this year are comfortable with that.

Q Reducing the distance to 1m (but with additional mitigations such as face coverings, Perspex glass, etc) does have an impact for some – though the majority (77%) are reasonably comfortable with this.

Q If however, the distance was reduced to 1m but without the need for other mitigations, levels of comfort drop considerably – only 40% of those planning a Scottish holiday would remain OK with this.

INSIGHT

TOURISM 56 DEGREE INSIGHT SCOTTISH TOURISM INDEX

Duncan Stewart, Managing Partner at 56 Degree Insight, comments: “There is broad support for the reduction to 1m in certain situations, but only if the additional mitigations are in place and there is clear signage forewarning visitors. It needs to be recognised that between 10 and 20% of tourists (especially older visitors) may decide not to visit tourism facilities where physical distancing is decreased.”

STAYCATION STATUS Over half of Scots surveyed are considering a staycation this year (53%), equating to around 2.4 million Scots holidays in 2020. Over half of these holidays are planned

by Scots who would not have taken a Scottish holiday were it not for the restrictions imposed by coronavirus (52%).

By 8 July, the survey suggests that 16% of Scots had already planned or booked a Scottish holiday post-15 July, and a further 37% were thinking about a Scottish

holiday this year. Some 38% had no intention to take a Scottish holiday, but a further 9% were unsure about their plans.

And amongst the 2.4 million Scots who are planning to take a holiday, families in particular were keen to take such a holiday before the planned re-opening of schools on 11 August – 44% of families planning a holiday wanted it to take place before the schools went back or during the October break (28%), whereas for those older Scots with no dependent children, late August and September are popular with 44% planning holidays in Scotland then.

Good news for the industry is that many Scots are willing to take a break outside the peak season – over one in five trips are planned for September (21%), and almost a quarter will be later in October, November and December (23%).

Particularly popular locations are rural areas – especially the Highlands, with 44% planning to visit.

TO READ THE FULL REPORT, VISIT THE 56 DEGREE INSIGHT WEBSITE

WEDNESDAY 15TH JULY 2020 / ISSUE 13 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 25

RETAIL TH E W EE K IN

LEGISLATION

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2-M ET RE RU LE BE CO M ES LA W RETAILER INTE

RVIEW

H OW’S YO U R W EE K BE EN…

L IN D A W IL L IA M S? SC AN, PAY, GO! TH E LATE ST NP D NF RN FU ND HI TS £200K

CORONAVIRUS

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