For Craig Warren, home delivery started as a simple way of helping people who could not get to the shop. It has since become one of the defining features of The Corner Stores, a family-run Costcutter/Bargain Booze business in Suffolk that has turned a rural location into a surprisingly powerful delivery operation.
The business was founded by Warren’s parents as a newsagent nearly 40 years ago. Today, the 1,400 sq ft store serves around 4,200 customers a week in-store and approximately 400 delivery customers through Snappy Shopper.
Its catchment stretches beyond the immediate neighbourhood to four surrounding villages, a housing estate in Mildenhall, two military bases and an industrial park.
The difference between the two shopping missions is striking. The average in-store basket is £9.10, while the online basket reaches £32.53. Delivery, in other words, is not simply another route to sell the same top-up shop. It has opened up a bigger basket and a much wider customer relationship.
The journey began during Covid, when Warren introduced phone-based delivery for elderly, vulnerable and isolated customers. In May 2023, the service moved to Snappy Shopper, turning what had been a manual operation into an app-based proposition capable of scaling.
Today, delivery accounts for around 22% of total sales, generating more than £500,000 over the past year and more than £1m since launch. Weekly delivery sales have grown by 85% year on year, while store sales have risen from around £35,000 a week to £42,000, with peak weeks reaching £43,000–£45,000.
The latest transformation has been physical as well as digital. A £250,000 refurbishment, completed at the end of April, turned the store into a Costcutter/Bargain Booze hybrid. The investment upgraded food-to-go, doubled the chilled and frozen ranges and quadrupled the alcohol range to 800 products.
The wider range is now available through the delivery operation, creating a virtuous circle between the shop and the app.
Delivery has also changed the way Warren thinks about stock. Product availability has become critical, with the store reporting 95.6% availability. Sales trends and customer behaviour on Snappy Shopper are used to influence ranging, while merchandising now has to work both physically on the shelf and digitally on the app.
The operation itself is deliberately local and personal. Two full-time and two part-time drivers support the service, with branded vehicles and uniforms.
Orders are picked and packed within the store, with an average delivery time of 32.7 minutes. Around 80% of the 400 weekly deliveries are within four miles, while around 50 customers each week still order by phone rather than through the app.
And the human element has not disappeared beneath the technology. Drivers carry shopping into kitchens, use key safes where appropriate, check on elderly regulars and have a chat at the door. The service has achieved a 4.97-star rating from 2,000 Snappy Shopper reviews, with customers describing it as a lifeline.
Around 75% of online business is repeat custom, while 562 new Snappy Shopper customers were attracted during the past year.
From a family newsagent to a modern convenience store with a substantial digital customer base, The Corner Stores shows how delivery can be both a commercial engine and an extension of the community role that started the journey.