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Snappy hits record order numbers as dark stores hit the skids

Snappy Shopper approaches five millionth order as dark stores run into major challenges.

Snappy Shopper, the home delivery platform, is “expecting to complete its five millionth order” in the coming days, following record-breaking order numbers so far this year.

This, says the Dundee-based company, is “in stark contrast to the outlook for dark stores, as many rapid delivery platforms pivot their businesses away from this model following significant cash burn and stagnating sales, whilst others announce major global staff redundancies”.

Gorillas, for instance, Europe’s largest dark store operator, has announced that it is to shed 300 jobs and is pulling out of four markets.

Snappy Shopper’s continued growth has been achieved post-Series A funding totalling £19.4m while Gorillas has raised more than £1bn of investment and was reportedly burning through €90m a month at the end of 2021 .

2022 has been a record year for Snappy Shopper, with retailers on the platform consistently reporting up to 160% increased basket spend compared to in-store, with average basket spend on Snappy a healthy £26 compared to a £10 in-store average.

As one of the UK’s fastest-growing grocery home delivery solutions, Snappy enables independent retailers to expand their communities by recruiting shoppers who don’t normally visit the store in person, with 80% of sales coming from new customers, according to a Snappy Shopper retailer survey. The technology also supports local high streets, allowing retailers to tap into consumer demand for convenience whilst offering value for money – online products are sold at in-store prices.

Mike Callachan, CEO at Snappy Shopper, says: “As we celebrate the milestone of our five millionth order through the Snappy Shopper app, we continue to develop our technology to support independent retailers and combat the threat posed to their businesses by dark stores. The sustained growth of the platform and growing demand from both sides of the marketplace (retailers and consumers) confirm our position in the market as being the better, less capital-intensive solution to rapid grocery delivery by driving incremental sales straight into the existing UK convenience store network.”

COO MARK STEVENS DEPARTS

Snappy Shopper Chief Operating Officer, Mark Steven, has left the business. Steven joined as CEO in March 2019 prior to seed funding, before becoming group COO in April 2021.

Mike Callahan, CEO, commented: “Mark leaves with our gratitude. Mark has been instrumental in getting us to where we are today, most notably navigating us from a fledgling start up, to a scaling business, securing £19.6m at a Series fundraise and also developing key strategic partnerships, including Paypoint plc. He has played a pivotal role in growing the Snappy business and developing it into the foremost convenience store home delivery player in the UK.”

Steven said: “I am enormously proud to have contributed to the incredible success of Snappy Shopper. Creating a phenomenal team from zero to grow Snappy from three stores to over 1,500 has been a very satisfying achievement. The most rewarding part, however, has been enabling retailers to not only protect but also significantly grow their businesses in challenging times. I plan to take a short break before embarking on the next chapter of my career.”