The Week In Retail Issue 7

RETAIL

THE WEEK IN

MARKET DATA

CONVENIENCE UP 85%

SALES EXPLODE IN APRIL

RETAILER INTERVIEW

CHARGING AHEAD

£200M LOTTERY BOOST FURLOUGH SCHEME UPDATED SHOPPING CHANGED FOREVER

ADDING HOME DELIVERY FEE HAS NO IMPACT ON VOLUMES BUT DRIVES UP BASKET SPEND

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NFRN LAUNCHES ‘ALL-IN-ONE’ APP Commercial Partner:

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Issue 7 Wednesday 3rd June 2020

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THE WEEK IN RETAIL

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

THE FIRST STEPS ON A LONG AND WINDING ROAD And so it begins. We’ve been in lockdown so long it’s starting to feel normal, but last week saw the first significant steps towards easing ourselves out of our strange new world order and back to something that more closely resembles what we used to call normal. Both north and south of the border the restrictions have been ever so slightly eased with Sturgeon once again taking a more cautious approach than Johnson.

It seems like the general public have taken to it like ducks to water if the much-publicised photographs in the mainstream media of packed beaches and public parks over the weekend are anything to go by. There was always going to be a bit of a rammy when people were finally allowed to meet up again, but the situation certainly wasn’t helped by the whole Dominic Cummings shambles. It’s not hard to understand why many people decided that if the rules don’t apply to Dominic then they don’t apply to me either.

What’s harder to understand is why risking undermining the entire ‘stay home, stay safe’

public health message was less important to Boris than saving the career of a single very dubious character. Politics is indeed a murky business.

So the planned gentle easing of lockdown restrictions has turned out to be not quite so gentle. The big question for us is: what impact will this have on c-stores? Convenience has stolen the show in the last few months, with Kantar figures showing that sales in the sector were up over 85% in a single four-week period recently. Will shoppers return to the supermarkets in droves?

If they do so, when will it happen – and how gradually? And how much of the new custom will local retailers retain in the future?

Most retailers I’ve spoken to believe that it will be many months before the coronavirus effect wears off. Dumfriesshire retailer Graham Watson, for instance, reckons local retailers will still be seeing inflated sales at Christmas. Whether he’s right or not will depend on a lot of factors, but it seems obvious that local retail is being seen in a new and positive light – and not before time.

ANTONYBEGLEY ANTONYBEGLEY ANTONYBEGLEY

ANTONY BEGLEY, EDITOR

WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE 2020 / ISSUE 7 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 3

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CONTENTS

WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE 2020 / ISSUE 7 WWW.SLRMAG.COM

6

12 THIS WEEK’S NEWS IN BRIEF

HOW’S YOUR WEEK BEEN… NATALIE LIGHTFOOT?

Local retailers see 85% growth during pandemic and NFRN unveils all-inone shopping app for members.

8 COVID-19 UPDATE

22 NATIONAL LOTTERY ANNUAL RESULTS Lottery retailers help deliver £200m boost to good causes on back of 9.7% growth in sales.

Glasgow Londis retailer evolves her home delivery service.

15 PICKS OF THE WEEK

19 OUT THE BOX: SUSTAINABILITY AUDITS

A ROUND-UP OF THE LATEST

16 NFRN ALL-IN-ONE APP

CORONAVIRUS-RELATED NEWS FROM THE

NEW APP OFFERS CLICK & COLLECT, HOME DELIVERY, IN-STORE SCAN & GO AND MORE.

LAST SEVEN DAYS. 10 RESEARCH

18 SUSTAINABILITY: HIGHLAND SPRING

WILL CORONAVIRUS CAUSE A PERMANENT CHANGE IN SHOPPER BEHAVIOUR?

TWITTER.COM/SLRMAG

ONE RETAILER DEMANDS SUPPLIERS PROVIDE CARBON FOOTPRINT DATA.

26 FASCIA UPDATE: NISA

GARY BATTEN SEES SALES GROW BY

THE BRAND HAS BEEN WORKING HARD

40% AFTER INTRODUCING A SAME DAY

DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS.

DELIVERY SERVICE IN HIS TWO STORES.

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SLRMAG

WWW.SLRMAG.CO.UK

WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE 2020 / ISSUE 7 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 5

NEWS DIGEST

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

CO AND PAYPOINT RENEW

RESEARCH

PayPoint across its 121 stores

LOCAL RETAILERS SEE 85% GROWTH

in the region.

THE LATEST KANTAR MARKET DATA HAS FOUND THAT

East of England Co-op has renewed its partnership with

INDEPENDENT AND SYMBOL RETAILERS ARE SEEING GROWTH IN

STAY CLOSED TO CRIME Crimestoppers Scotland is asking the public to report suspicions to ensure business can open in the future but stay #ClosedtoCrime. Attacks on ATMs and convenience stores

EXCESS OF 85%.

Local retailers are continuing to see huge increases in year-on-year sales during the coronavirus pandemic with the latest figures from Kantar suggesting that independent and symbol retailers saw growth of 85.5% in the four weeks to 19 April.

This compares with considerably more modest growth for the supermarkets, which saw Tesco lead the way with a 12.5% increase while Asda grew by just 3% over the same period.

The Co-op saw sales rise 42%.

are among crimes that harm local businesses, disrupting services and employment prospects, says the charity.

ODDBINS SAVED A “substantial part” of the high street wine retailing business Oddbins has been bought out of administration by an asyet unnamed buyer. Around 28 stores are expected to be salvaged.

SCOTTISH RUM FEST The inaugural Scottish Rum Festival will now be held virtually on Friday 24th July for trade delegates. Find out more at www.ScotRumFest.com

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COSTCUTTER BACK IN THE GAME AFTER AN ‘OUTSTANDING’ YEAR Costcutter Supermarkets Group (CSG) has reported one of its strongest set of financial results to date, with sales increasing by 10% to £426m for the period 1 January to 31 December 2019.

The symbol group also saw a £9m rise in earnings before tax (EBITDA) to £5.1m, completely reversing 2018’s loss of £4.2m.

CSG boss Darcy Willson-Rymer (pictured) said 2019 had been an “outstanding” year.

The lockdown-induced resurgence of the convenience channel was reflected in a 22% rise in non-tobacco sales across the first four months of 2020, and Willson-Rymer plans to convert the ‘lifeline’ shoppers

responsible for the spike into loyal Costcutter regulars through its Shopper First programme and by helping retailers become even closer to local communities through an increased focus on digital experience and platforms such as Uber Eats.

NEWS DIGEST

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

TECH SOLUTIONS

NFRN UNVEILS ALL-IN-ONE APP

GREEN-FINGERED GROWTH Lockdown has led to huge growth in sales of bedding plants with sales of horticultural goods through Nisa alone

A NEW APP FROM THE NFRN OFFERS RETAILERS ACCESS TO SAME-

growing at 425% compared

DAY HOME DELIVERY, CLICK & COLLECT, MOBILE PAYMENTS AND

to the same period last year.

IN-STORE SCAN & GO SERVICES ALL IN ONE PLACE.

A total of 33,000 cases of bedding plants were sold

The NFRN has partnered with mobile app Jisp to offer retailers an all-inone solution providing same-day home delivery, click & collect, mobile payments and in-store scan & go services.

Several NFRN members’ stores will trial the app over the coming weeks.

With social distancing measures still firmly in place, the Jisp app provides a suite of contact-free shopping solutions for both in-store and at home. In-store barcode scanning

with a smartphone automatically adds products to a virtual basket and lets shoppers check-out securely.

NFRN National President Stuart Reddish said: “Covid has accelerated digital in retail and, given the current complexities of serving customers, along with future opportunities digital brings, we’re pleased to announce this brand-new partnership with Jisp.

“We’re well placed to provide the most advanced app for our members.”

Read more here.

between Easter weekend and the third week in May.

PLASTIC FANTASTIC Central England Co-op has revealed that it has removed 380,000 items of single-use plastic as it prepares for World Environment Day on Friday.

The company has also redistributed enough food to create over one million meals

RECOVERY PLAN ‘MUST INCLUDE CONVENIENCE SECTOR SUPPORT’ The Scottish Grocers Federation has said support for c-stores must be at the heart of Scotland’s Covid-19 economic recovery plan. Responding to a call for evidence from the newly formed Advisory Group on Economic Recovery, the Federation said maintaining and extending the small business bonus should be a key recommendation to the Scottish Government.

SGF Chief Executive Pete Cheema said: “The convenience industry has

shown how important it is to both the local and national economy – our 5,000 convenience stores provide 44,000 jobs and contribute £530m to the economy in Gross Value Added.

“Two very simple, practical and achievable measures the Scottish government must include in the economic recovery plan are to commit to maintain the small business bonus and to increase the combined rateable value threshold to £50,000.”

for people in need and reduced its carbon footprint by 72% since 2010.

BP’S REAL LIVING WAGE BP is to adopt the Real Living Wage and will pay all its directly-employed UK retail staff accordingly from 1 August in a move that will affect around 5,000 staff across the UK. This will represent an average pay increase of around 5%.

WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE 2020 / ISSUE 7 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 7

NEWS SPECIAL

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

NISA RETAILERS DONATE £103K TO CHARITY IN MAY

ROBOT DELIVERIES The Co-op is growing its robotbased home delivery service in Milton Keynes after demand for the service doubled during the coronavirus lockdown. The Coop was the first to trial sameday robot deliveries in the UK in April 2018.

CSG EXPANDS SUPPORT Costcutter Supermarkets Group has further beefed up its

NISA RETAILERS HAVE RESPONDED TO THE NEEDS OF THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITIES BY COLLECTIVELY RAISING OVER £103K FOR GOOD CAUSES THROUGH THE MAKE A DIFFERENCE LOCALLY CHARITY.

N

free online support package for independent retailers to help them maximise the support they in turn can give to their local communities. The online support now includes vital guides on home delivery, call & collect and NHS “Thank

isa retailers are responding to the needs of their local communities by providing additional support for charities and other good causes during perhaps their most trying times to date.

Throughout May, Nisa partners collectively donated £103,230 via the symbol group’s Making a Difference Locally charity.

This represents an increase of 26% on the previous month. The rise

follows a boost to the charity’s income in recent months, with grocery sales having soared since the start of the pandemic in the UK, and sales of Coop and Heritage own label products in Nisa partner stores - which raise funds for good causes via Making a Difference Locally – also growing significantly as a result.

Yous” with all guides free to download from CSG’s dedicated website.

CASHIER IN VOGUE Waitrose cashier Anisa Omar has been chose as the cover star for the July issue of Vogue magazine as it celebrates key workers who have been working tirelessly during lockdown. The 21 year old works at Waitrose’s store in London’s King’s Cross.

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‘LIVES AT RISK’ OVER YET-TO-BE RELEASED COVID-19 FUNDS Unite Scotland has strongly criticised the Scottish Government over the continued delay in releasing £155m of additional Covid-19 emergency finance to local authorities, stating that ‘lives are being put at risk’.

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said that costed plans must be submitted in advance before the funds are released, unlike in England where the finance has been non ring-fenced. The UK Government made £1.6bn of funding

available to councils in England on 18 April, which amounted to an additional £155m for Scotland.

NEWS SPECIAL

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

FURLOUGH SCHEME UPDATED

T

QUICK AND EFFECTIVE STENCIL KIT

THE GOVERNMENT HAS UPDATED ITS FURLOUGH SCHEME TO ALLOW BUSINESS TO BRING BACK EMPLOYEES PART-TIME.

he UK Government has said that from 1 July businesses will be able to bring furloughed employees back part-time.

Also, from August, the level of support provided through the job retention scheme will be slowly tapered as follows: Q June and July: The government will pay 80% of wages up to £2,500 as well as employer National Insurance and pension contributions. Employers are not required to pay anything.

Q August: The government will pay

80% of wages up to a cap of £2,500.

Employers will pay ER NICs and pension contributions.

Q September: The government will pay 70% of wages up to a cap of £2,187.50. Employers will pay ER NICs and pension contributions and 10% of wages to make up 80% total up to a cap of £2,500.

Q October: The government will pay 60% of wages up to a cap of £1,875.

Employers will pay ER NICs and pension contributions and 20% of wages to make up 80% total up to a cap of £2,500.

It may be low tech but a a new floor stencil kit from visual communication solutions specialist Beaverswood provides a fast and effective, solution to improve the management of social distancing in stores during the COVID-19 pandemic.

National Lottery retailers have helped deliver a huge £200m increase in the amount of money going to good causes over the last year. Camelot announced its third successive year of sales growth last week and revealed that retailers helped grow sales by almost £700m in the year to the end of March, reaching a record total of over £7.9bn.

Over the same period, the National

Lottery generated returns to Good Causes of £1.85bn, an increase of £198.4m (+12%), which is even more significant at this critical time as National Lottery Distributors continue to fund vital work across the UK. This commitment will see up to £600m of National Lottery funding being directed towards UK charities and organisations to help tackle the impact of COVID-19.

TECH SOLUTIONS

LOCAL RETAILERS DELIVER £200M BOOST TO GOOD CAUSES

The stencil kit can be used to quickly mark out two metre spaces on the floor and other public information messages to ensure people are kept safe and secure and that strict social distancing is observed.

For more, visit: www. beaverswood.co.uk or email sales@ beaverswood.co.uk.

WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE 2020 / ISSUE 7 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 9

RESEARCH

POST-CORONAVIRUS SHOPPER BEHAVIOUR THE ‘NEW NORMAL’

CONSUMERS SET TO PERMANENTLY CHANGE THE WAY THEY SHOP SEVERAL NEW PIECES OF RESEARCH INDICATE THAT THE WAY CONSUMERS SHOP

A

IS SET TO PERMANENTLY CHANGE ONCE COVID-19 HAS PASSED – WITH HUGE OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL RETAILERS.

number of new studies indicates clearly that a large number of consumers look set to permanently change the way they shop after the coronavirus pandemic has finally passed.

PERMANENT CHANGE New research from economics consultancy Retail Economics reveals that more than a quarter (28%) of consumers said categorically that the way they shop will change permanently because of Covid-19.

Lockdowns, social distancing and the closure of non-essential retailing had an immediate impact on consumers’ lives but the crisis looks set to cause a step-change in behaviour that will have long-lasting consequences for the industry and will create new challenges and opportunities for retailers.

The research was carried out among 2,000 households and found that 43% of consumers have switched to purchasing products online that they had previously only ever purchased in-store.

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Even with lockdown being eased, many shoppers do not anticipate returning to their pre-coronavirus habits with just 10% saying they would do so and 40% saying they would remain “extremely cautious”.

Richard Lim, CEO of Retail Economics, said: “The road to recovery for the retail sector is likely to be slow and protracted as consumers feel uneasy about returning to normal life when restrictions ease.

RESEARCH

POST-CORONAVIRUS SHOPPER BEHAVIOUR THE ‘NEW NORMAL’

“Shoppers will put their safety first and will initially avoid shopping in crowded locations unless absolutely necessary. A safe shopping environment will become a top priority for consumers, impacting their choice of whom to shop with and where. This is likely to lead to more local shopping which avoids public transport and crowded destinations in enclosed spaces.

“It’s unlikely consumers will return wholly to previous behaviours once the impact of the pandemic abates.”

HOME DELIVERY HERE TO STAY Meanwhile, research from HIM & MCA Insight predicts that the surge in demand for grocery delivery will continue after the pandemic ends, as shoppers look to maintain the benefits it has offered during the lockdown period.

According to the report, 29% of shoppers are shopping online for food and drink more than before the lockdown began. More significantly, 20% of these shoppers plan to continue to use grocery delivery services more even when lockdown has ended. This rises to 36% of 2534-year olds, highlighting the importance of building loyalty during the lockdown period to maintain these new users as the market recovers and we enter ‘adjusted normality’.

Another group of shoppers who have increased their use of online grocery is the 75+ year-olds.

This has been facilitated by the prioritisation of delivery slots for the elderly and vulnerable by grocery retailers.

Demand for online grocery slots has outstripped availability since the lockdown began, however the major multiples have expanded their capacity for deliveries through significant recruitment of pickers and drivers. In the convenience channel, the easing of some terms and conditions from delivery platforms has made it more attractive

for retailers to serve their local communities by offering a delivery service.

HIGH STREET VISITS TO FALL Finally, new research from digital commerce specialist JGOO revealed that some 40% of shoppers expect the number of times they visit high streets and shopping centres to fall in the six months after lockdown is lifted. Just 15% think they will visit more often while 12% expect high street and shopping centre visits will fall “dramatically”.

Around 30% of people who expect to do more online shopping over the next six months say they will do so because they want to avoid high streets and shopping centres to reduce their chances of catching the virus.

Of those people who think they will be making fewer visits, 9% say they won’t go at all, and one in five (20%) expect the number of trips they make on an average monthly basis to fall by five or more.

Percentage of people who plan to make fewer visits to high streets and shopping centres after the Coronavirus lockdown is lifted: Q 1 – 2 trips: 40% Q 3 – 4 trips: 29% Q 5 – 6 trips: 13% Q 7 – 8 trips: 2% Q 9 – 10 trips: 2% Q Over 10 trips: 3% Q Won’t go at all: 9%

WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE 2020 / ISSUE 7 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 11

RETAILER INTERVIEW

NATALIE LIGHTFOOT LONDIS SOLO CONVENIENCE, BAILLIESTON, GLASGOW

HOW’S YOUR WEEK BEEN...

NATALIE LIGHTFOOT

IT’S BEEN A HECTIC WEEK FOR GLASGOW LONDIS RETAILER NATALIE LIGHTFOOT AS SHE EVOLVES HER HOME DELIVERY SERVICE AND COPES WITH THE RECENT EASING OF LOCKDOWN REGULATIONS.

12 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 7 / WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE 2020

RETAILER INTERVIEW

NATALIE LIGHTFOOT LONDIS SOLO CONVENIENCE, BAILLIESTON, GLASGOW

HOW’S YOUR WEEK BEEN NATALIE? Very, very, very busy! Sales are still growing and last week we were up 6.5% over the week before.

There aren’t enough hours in the day.

HOW ARE SALES PERFORMING AGAINST THE ‘OLD NORMAL’?

Well, we’re up about 50% this week compared to the same week last year. It’s astonishing really, although we haven’t had the time to actually sit back and appreciate that yet. It’s been so incredibly busy that we haven’t had a chance to analyse it all properly.

AND YOU’VE EVOLVED YOUR HOME DELIVERY MODEL IN THE LAST WEEK? Yes, we’ve been doing home delivery for a little while now. It was something we always wanted to do. We’d been talking to Snappy Shopper since last June but it took until about nine weeks ago.

We launched it initially as a free delivery service because it felt like the right thing to do under

the circumstances, but it became so popular so quickly that we really needed to start charging.

We only introduced the delivery fee last week and we were afraid we’d lose a lot of our customers now we’re charging.

DID YOU? No. As far as we can tell, we haven’t lost a single customer. Additionally, we’ve seen the basket spend rocket in the last week. When it was free delivery the figure was around £26. Now that there’s a charge, the spend has risen to £35. Before we were getting some customers using the service twice a day but now that they’re paying a delivery fee, I guess they just get everything they need in one go so that they don’t have to pay twice.

How many deliveries are you doing?

Monday to Thursday we average 25 to 35 deliveries a day. Weekends are higher. On Saturday we did 63.

WHY DID YOU EARMARK HOME DELIVERY AS A GROWTH OPPORTUNITY? We actually started out focused on food-to-go as the key opportunity but the store is quite small and doesn’t have room for a big unit. We’re also

WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE 2020 / ISSUE 7 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 13

RETAILER INTERVIEW

NATALIE LIGHTFOOT LONDIS SOLO CONVENIENCE, BAILLIESTON

surrounded by fast food outlets on the high street we’re on, so we decided that home delivery was maybe a better option.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE SNAPPY SHOPPER? Their app is nice and clean and it’s easy to use for both shoppers and retailers. I looked at some other options but when you use third-party delivery companies you’re automatically slashing your margin or overcharging the customer. We were very keen to keep in-store pricing on the app because our customers know how much things cost, and they wouldn’t have responded well to having to pay inflated prices to have them delivered. Snappy Shopper lets us keep our prices just as they are in-store.

DO YOU THINK YOU’LL RETAIN YOUR HOME DELIVERY SHOPPERS AFTER COVID-19?

I think we will retain the majority of them, yes.

Home delivery is actually working out really well because so many customers are now used to ordering their food from the fast food outlets that it feels quite natural for them to then order their alcohol, soft drinks and confectionery from us at the same time. I don’t think that will change when lockdown ends because the ‘want it now’ mentality is now firmly ingrained.

HOW HAS FOOTFALL BEEN IN THE STORE? It has fallen significantly, by probably about two thirds compared to normal – but that’s not a surprise as we operate a ‘one-in, one-out’ policy so we can literally only have one customer in the store at a time. It makes the fact that turnover is up so much even more remarkable.

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HOW DO YOU COPE WITH CHILDCARE? My husband Martin and I have kids so we can’t both be in the store at the same time as we have to look after the kids. Martin has been doing a lot of the time in the store and I look after the kids and handle all the back office, accounts and admin work. It’s not easy but it works, although it means we’re pretty much always working in one way or another.

IS AVAILABILITY BACK IN LINE THESE DAYS? Yes, we’re pretty much back to normal. We had a few sticky patches and we still struggle on obvious stuff like flour and yeast but for the most part availability is back to normal. We’ve sold more flour in the last couple of months than we sold since we opened the store! Thankfully Londis have been great on fresh and we’ve seen sales quadruple in that category.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THE PANDEMIC? The importance of rolling with the punches, understanding your customers and always moving on positively and proactively.

NPD AND MEDIA

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RETAIL TECHNOLOGY

NFRN ALL-IN-ONE APP NFRN PARTNERS WITH JISP IN WORLD-FIRST SOLUTION

NFRN UNVEILS ‘ALL-IN-ONE’ APP NFRN HAS PARTNERED WITH TECH BUSINESS JISP TO LAUNCH A WORLD-FIRST SOLUTION PROVIDING SAME-DAY HOME DELIVERY, CLICK & COLLECT, MOBILE PAYMENTS AND IN-STORE SCAN & GO SERVICES.

T

he Federation of Independent Retailers (NFRN) has unveiled a new app that offers independent retailers a single solution that allows them to provide same-day Home Delivery, Click & Collect, mobile payments and in-store Scan & Go services all from one app.

With social distancing measures still firmly in place, NFRN has partnered with Alton-based tech business Jisp to launch the world-first solution which delivers a suite of contact-free shopping solutions for both in-store and at home.

The Jisp app includes in-store barcode scanning functionality using shoppers’ smartphones, allowing them to automatically add products to a virtual basket.

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Shoppers can also receive instant product information, including allergens and reviews, and can pay securely via the app from anywhere, negating queues.

NFRN Chief Operating Office Greg Deacon told The Week In Retail: “We’re very excited about what we believe is the most complete solution on the market. We will be trialling it in seven stores across the UK for the next four weeks and then intend to roll it out nationally.”

The trial stores are being supported with local radio and press advertising to grow consumer engagement with the app, as well as heavyweight social media activity.

Built on a modular basis, retailers can choose which elements of the functionality they wish to implement and can grow and develop their offering through the app over time.

The app functions as a standalone solution but has the capacity to be fully integrated with retailers’ EPoS systems.

“It’s been built very much with the independent retailer in mind,” said Deacon. “When we were working with Jisp on it, our number one rule was that it had to be plug and play straight out of the box – and I believe we’ve succeeded. It’s extremely intuitive and easy to use.”

NFRN National President Stuart Reddish said: “Covid has accelerated digital in retail and, given the current complexities of serving customers, along with future opportunities digital brings, we’re pleased to announce this brand-new partnership with Jisp.

RETAIL TECHNOLOGY

NFRN ALL-IN-ONE APP NFRN PARTNERS WITH JISP IN WORLD-FIRST SOLUTION

THE ALL-IN-ONE SOLUTION Q Customer communications Q Home Delivery Q Click & Collect Q Mobile Payments Q In-store Scan & Go Q Gamification

“This opportunity comes at a time where physical meets digital in retail, and we’re well placed to provide the most advanced app for our members across the UK & ROI that will be loved by our customers too.”

Julian Fisher, CEO of Jisp, says: “Where Covid-19 and social distancing dictate the current consumer behaviour, the digital transformation will help independent stores to avoid unnecessary human interactions and queues, creating an additional income stream in these challenging times.”

A novel ‘gamification’ solution built into the app allows retailers to engage locally or nationally with up to 100,000 players who take part in Jisp’s online interactive quiz ‘ENGAGE’, delivering innovative ways of engaging with shoppers and increasing use of the app.

To register your interest, visit: www.nfrnonline.com

WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE 2020 / ISSUE 7 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 17

SUSTAINABILITY

HIGHLAND SPRING NICHOLA GRANT, CHANNEL MARKETING MANAGER, HIGHLAND SPRING GROUP

TACKLING SUSTAINABILITY HEAD ON HIGHLAND SPRING HAS BEEN WORKING HARD TO HELP RETAILERS PROVIDE THEIR SHOPPERS WITH IMPROVED SOLUTIONS, SAYS CHANNEL MARKETING MANAGER NICHOLA GRANT.

Providing healthy hydration in an environmentally sustainable way is the core purpose of our business.

Highland Spring was the first natural source water brand in the UK to have its catchment area certified as organic by the Soil Association and we have also been ranked the most ethical natural source water brand for the 12th year running in The Good Shopping Guide’s ethical rankings.

While all Highland Spring bottles can be recycled, in 2019 the brand launched its first 100% recycled and recyclable eco bottle. This was followed by the roll-out of the Wild Life

kids eco bottle. To date Highland Spring has sold 10m eco bottles and so far around 5m have been recycled back into new ones.

In 2020 we will be increasing the number of products available in recycled plastic (rPET) and aim to reach 100% rPET across all products with a target of 50% recycled content in our bottles by 2022.

It is vital to stock brands that have a reputation for their commitment to sustainability and to stock SKUs that align to these messages.

are All o 10 ur 0% bo rec ttles yc lab le

GROW YOUR SALES WITH HYDRATION FROM A NATURAL SOURCE

Highland Spring is the No.1 plain bottled water brand*

STOCK UP NOW *Nielsen Total Scotland value 52w/e 16.05.20

18 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 7 / WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE 2020

NOW THAT’S A GOOD IDEA…

OUT THE BOX MANDATORY SUSTAINABILITY AUDITS

MANDATORY SUPPLIER SUSTAINABILITY AUDITS

GERMAN FASHION RETAILER ZALANDO HAS BECOME THE FIRST RETAILER TO MAKE IT COMPULSORY FOR BRANDS SELLING ON ITS PLATFORM TO AUDIT THEIR SUSTAINABILITY CREDENTIALS.

WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Fashion retailer Zalando, Europe’s biggest fashion platform, is forcing all brands who sell on its online platform to measure how sustainable their business is.

It’s the first time that a retailer of any description has forced suppliers to focus on the carbon footprint of their business and it’s a model that might at some point make its way into grocery and convenience retailing and indicates a clear direction of travel for retail as a whole.

HOW DOES THAT WORK? The Berlin-based marketplace is requiring that all brands selling via its site measure the environmental and social impacts of their business and provide the data to Zalando.

WHAT WILL ZALANDO DO WITH THE DATA? Use it to understand trends and develop solutions aimed at improving its own business. Ultimately, Zalando aims to work only with partners who meet its ethical standards by 2023.

WHY ARE THEY DOING IT? Kate Heiny, Director of Sustainability at Zalando commented: “We want to raise the bar, act first and bring our partners on the journey to address today’s most important issues: climate change, use of resources and worker rights.

For the first time we will have comparable data at brand level to identify improvement areas and work on solutions collaboratively.”

WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE 2020 / ISSUE 7 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 19

NEWS SPECIAL

NATIONAL LOTTERY ANNUAL RESULTS

LOTTERY RETAILERS HELP DELIVER £200M BOOST TO GOOD CAUSES NATIONAL LOTTERY RETAILER ACROSS THE UK HELPED GROW SALES LAST YEAR BY 9.7% WHICH RESULTED IN AN EXTRA £200M GOING TO GOOD CAUSES. FAST STATS Q Total National Lottery ticket sales up 9.7% to £7.9bn Q Returns to Good Causes up 12.0% to £1.85bn Q Prize money awarded up by 9.1% Q Retail sales up by 1.4% – Retailer commission up by 2.8%

Yvonne Hamilton, owner of Linton Stores in York, scooped £10,000 in March in Camelot’s Site, Stock, Sell quarterly prize draw

T

he phenomenal efforts of National Lottery retailers across the last year has resulted in a huge 12% increase in the amount of money going to good causes. The great news came as Camelot announced its third successive year of sales growth. Retailers helped grow sales by almost £700m in the year to the end of March, reaching a record total of £7,905.1m.

Over the same period, the National Lottery generated returns to Good Causes of £1,853.1, an

22 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 7 / WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE 2020

Q 95% of all sales revenue returned to winners and society

increase of £198.4m (+12%), which is even more significant at this critical time as National Lottery Distributors continue to fund vital work across the UK. This commitment will see up to £600m of National Lottery funding being directed towards UK charities and organisations to help tackle the impact of COVID-19.

Camelot Chairman Sir Hugh Robertson commented: “Thanks to this crisis relief package,

NEWS SPECIAL

NATIONAL LOTTERY ANNUAL RESULTS

hundreds of millions of pounds in vital funding has been repurposed to help those most affected by the coronavirus pandemic – providing, among other things, much-needed aid for communities, grants for sport initiatives to keep people fit and healthy, and assistance for thousands of other projects that are in desperate need of funding during this time. Anyone who has bought a National Lottery ticket should know they’ve played their part in making this possible.”

The performance means The National Lottery continues to generate over £30m a week for Good Causes across the UK. With the amount also delivered to government through Lottery Duty, this rises to more than £50m a week for society.

And it takes the total raised for Good Causes since 1994 to over £41bn.

National Lottery funding has now been awarded to more than 565,000 individual projects – more than 200 lottery grants, on average, in every UK postcode district.

ONGOING RETAIL INVESTMENT Accounting for nearly 70% of all ticket sales, retail remains the largest National Lottery sales channel. Despite ongoing challenges in the retail environment, Camelot grew in-store sales by £74.3m (+1.4%) to £5,447.6m over the 12 months.

As a result, National Lottery retailers, many of them small independent businesses, earned £312.7m in commission, a +2.8% increase and an average of around £7,000 per store.

In a further step to help its retail partners during the current situation, Camelot is removing all Scratchcard returns charges for games closed in the March/April 2020 Scratchcard game closure.

The company will remove all 32 games from each retailer’s inventory and local Retail Sales Executives will visit stores to collect any full unactivated packs when it is safe to do so.

Bal Kaur, of Thirlemere Store in Wakefield, took home £10,000 earlier this year for her high in-store standards in Camelot’s Site, Stock, Sell programme

A HUGE THANK YOU TO RETAILERS! Camelot CEO Nigel Railton offers his thanks to all National Lottery retailers for their contribution in making this a record year and also for their ongoing support more recently during this challenging period.

WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE 2020 / ISSUE 7 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 23

Thank you for makin

You and your team have been through a lot recently. You have faced advers Nisa support centre and DHL teams. You have been patient with us when sup conditions. You have adapted your t

Nisa partners and store colleagues, we thank you for your outs

You’re my favourite local shop, wonderful people who are so community friendly. You’re an asset to the community thank you.

H, Jodie & Amrit Singh, Nisa Local High Heath, Walsall

You’re all doing a fantastic job.

Thank you for everything you’re doing! The village could not cope without you all.

Alan Carr, Newport Village Stores, Saffron Walden

join-nisa.co.uk

You’re doing a grea community. W Thank

Alex Kapadia, Nisa Local Whitehills, Northampton

I am so amazed at how m this crazy time! The big sh by selfish people but th everything. They are hav keeping their shelves sto and still working so only g I want to say a massive t They are w

Barry Patel, Nisa Marsh Farm, Luton

ng a real difference

sity with a smile and an amazing community spirit, backed by our dedicated pply was disrupted and have kept serving our customers in incredibly difficult rading to keep your customers safe.

standing efforts! Together we are Making a Difference Locally.

at job for the local We appreciate it. k you.

much stock is in store at hops have been ransacked his store has had almost ving regular deliveries and ocked. I am a key worker get there at certain times. thank you to all the staff. wonderful.

Amazing effort by Andy, Adam and the team. You have all gone above and beyond and your hard work is very much appreciated and you have done it all with such goodwill. Thank you.

Dike & Son, Stalbridge, Dorset

Well done. I was in today and it was well stocked. I praised the staff as they and your shop are providing us with all we need.

Thank you, take care all.

Emerson’s Supermarket, Armagh

SYMBOL SPECIAL

SAME DAY DELIVERY NISA RETAIL

SAME DAY DELIVERY DRIVES 40% SALES INCREASE CORNISH NISA RETAILER GARY BATTEN HAS SEEN SALES GROW BY 40% AFTER INTRODUCING A SAME DAY DELIVERY SERVICE IN HIS TWO STORES.

L “Everything we’re doing is about our customers – what they need now and also with a view to retaining them, both old and new, after all this is over.”

26 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 7 / WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE 2020

ocals living in isolated villages in the Cornish countryside are being well served by their local independent retailer during the lockdown thanks to a raft of initiatives introduced in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Gary Batten, who runs two stores in the St Austell area of Cornwall, is now seeing almost a quarter of his business come from home deliveries after launching a same day service in March.

And shoppers reluctant to visit large supermarkets have welcomed the steps taken at St Stephen and Nanpean, leading to an increase in sales of almost 40% across the two stores since the onset of Covid-19.

The new home delivery service – along with a website and increased publicity across social media platforms – has contributed to an increase in overall turnover of 56% over the last year.

Gary said: “We have been unbelievably busy and worked 12-hour days every day for 10 weeks or more now. A lot of people just don’t want to go into the big supermarkets and instead are choosing us.

SYMBOL SPECIAL

SAME DAY DELIVERY NISA RETAIL

FAST STATS 40% increase in sales since March ...

56% increase over last year ... £1 delivery fee

“We have listened to what our customers have said, what they want and have tried to respond and offer additional services that support them during these times.

“Everything we’re doing is about our customers – what they need now and also with a view to retaining them, both old and new, after all this is over.”

Using a team of volunteer drivers, shoppers place their orders via email using a link on the new website, make payment over the phone and are charged £1 for the service, regardless of how much or little their order is.

To ensure staff and shopper safety most orders are picked from the shelves before the store opens and rang through a till that has been purposely re-located into the back of the store. Orders are then bagged up and collected by the drivers via the rear entrance.

Gary added: “We have had to adapt to the changing situation in order to move forward with the business. If you don’t adapt you won’t survive and the feedback we’ve had from customers has been absolutely amazing.“

To Join Nisa complete the form on www.join-nisa.co.uk/contact-us or contact our team on 0800 542 7490.

WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE 2020 / ISSUE 7 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 27

RETAIL TH E W EE K IN

LEGISLATION

S O C IA L D IS TA N C IN G

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

+ WHAT WILL THE ‘NEW NORMAL’ LOO

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Issue 2 Wednesday 29th April 2020

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