Cornish countryside laps up same day delivery service from local store

Launching same day deliveries in March has proved to be a huge success for a retailer in Cornwall with almost a quarter of his business now coming through home deliveries.

The service is part of a raft of initiatives introduced by Gary Batten, who runs two stores in isolated villages of St Stephen and Nanpean in the St Austell area of Cornwall, in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

As locals lapped up the steps, he has seen almost 40 percent increase in sales across the two stores since the onset of COVID-19.

Batten said 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 percent over the last year.

Shoppers can 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.

“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,” Batten said.

“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.”

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Batten has also installed a self check-out till to the Nanpean  store to complement the social distancing measures.

“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,” he said.