WIN £50-worth of Swizzels stock

approximately 60-65% of our electrical cost, which is currently £1,800 a month.

We carried out some careful calculations to �ind out what this investment will save us.

We will pay it back and make a return in four to �ive years with the electricity savings. This is obviously taking into account that the equipment doesn’t need to work as hard in the winter.

Julian Taylor-Green, multi-site Spar retailer, Staffordshire

COMMUNITY RETAILER

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And it is the same for us. We aim to absorb as much of the margin as possible, while also ensuring our business is sustainable. That doesn’t mean that every product needs to go up, though. We’re trying to raise prices where there is room to do it – so Branston Ravioli and Macaroni Cheese are increasing this week by 10p and 5p, respectively. We’ve never been a business that’s put an arbitrary margin in place – such as, we must make 40% on every product – so it’s about finding the opportunities to profit where we can.

A great example is Pot Noodles, which we had on a promotion of two-for-£1.50. My wife and I went into town and saw that Poundland had them on at £1 each, so we have decided to price match to their promotion instead. We stocked up while we could and this allowed us to keep Pot Noodles at £1 even after the promotion had ended. Independents have had some real advantages over the next few months. On the one hand, customers are shopping little and often. I overheard an older customer asking ‘what do we need to buy before our shopping is delivered later today?’. This gives us the opportunity to sell other items such as £1 handwash bottles, increasing basket spends. I’ve also heard customers talk about how Lidl and Aldi’s prices are going up, so they might as well shop locally and save time and transport costs at their convenience store. One thing that helps us compete is the fact that we have trolleys for customers to use. We were originally a bit wary of this idea when our regional development manager suggested it, but we started offering them for customers three Christmases ago and haven’t looked back.

If our customers want to pick up a larger format, for example – my team are trained to help them take their shopping to their cars. I used to work for Vodafone and know how important customer service is. All of my team is trained to remember our regulars’ first names, tell customers about new products or promotions and offer any assistance they might need.

In a cost-of-living crisis, great customer service doesn’t cost anything, but can be a point of difference that keeps the community coming back to their local store.

SWIZZELS has partnered with Retail Express to offer five retailers the chance to win an assortment of its popular price-marked pack (PMP) hanging bag range, worth more than £50 RRP, to celebrate its big night in campaign. The campaign, which focuses on PMPs such as Luscious Lollies and Refresher Choos, will be supported by in-depot PoS, social media and digital activity.

TO ENTER

Fill in your details at: betterRetailing.com/competitions

This competition closes on 21 March Editor’s decision is final.

“I’VE been putting 1,000 loaves of bread outside my shop every week since the pandemic. It all started when a customer said they were struggling to feed their children, and I wanted to play my part in ensuring no child ever goes without. Each morning, I make sure there are 1,000 loaves outside, and everyone knows they are free to take. I personally go to cash and carries to pick up the stock. I’ve had a fantastic response from my local community, who tell me how it helps them.”