Doncaster retailer completes 1000th home delivery since lockdown

Delivery demand has hit new highs for a South Yorkshire grocery store, doubling the turnover since the start of the coronavirus crisis.

Taylors of Tickhill, near Doncaster, made their 1,000th delivery since the lockdown as shoppers have chosen their local shop for supplies rather than larger nearby supermarkets.

“We have been absolutely inundated with orders for our delivery service and have just made our 1,000th delivery since lockdown began,” said Chris Taylor, owner and proprietor of the store.

“It was already well established before the current situation but numbers wanting the service over the past few weeks have rocketed with emails and phone calls coming in round the clock.”

The store has to change their operating hours to ensure a safe service to everyone, as orders for delivered groceries from existing as well as new customers jumped up.

“At the start of this current situation, we were trying to pick orders, we had our own deliveries coming in and we had shoppers in the shop – it was becoming impossible to do all the jobs and keep everyone safe and socially distanced,” Taylor said.

He said many locals who only usually appear in store at Christmas time are now regulars, buying essentials in their local shop close to home, rather than travelling outside to larger supermarkets.

The basket size has almost doubled with those coming into store spending an average of around £50 compared to just half that before Covid-19 hit.

The family-run business has recruited additional store colleagues to assist picking orders with university students back home taking on the casual roles and providing a quick and flexible solution.

The store has also made use of bakery suppliers for products like flour and eggs, when availability through usual channels was an issue.

“Like all independent retailers, we have found different ways of doing the same thing to make sure we have what our customers need. It’s hard work and very long hours but customers are happy, and staff are safe, and the new way of working is still profitable,” Taylor said.