Praise, sales and loyalty: Rutherglen retailer’s rewarding experience

A retailer’s all-out effort to ensure the safety of staff and customers during the COVID-19 pandemic has been winning praise, sales and loyalty from his customer base, besides attracting a lot of new customers.

Kesh Bagha, who runs a Lifestyle Express store in Rutherglen, Scotland, is seeing increased sales and footfall after he went the extra mile in his coronavirus response.

“Having read all the social distancing guidelines, I instantly felt a duty of care to my customers,” he said. “I wanted them to know that they could rely on my staff and I to do the right thing by making the store as safe as possible and still provide them with the products they needed.”

The range of social distancing measures Bagha adopted in store, which included installing Perspex screens at the till point, creating a one-way system with directional signage and controlling the number of customers in store at any one time, has attracted new customers. His regulars have also been impressed, who now prefer to shop little and often with him rather than visit larger supermarkets.

“The best compliment I’ve had so far is that a customer wished the big supermarkets could follow our lead with their safety measures,” Bagha said. “My customers feel so safe here and it’s wonderful that they’re using us for all their shopping, rather than just to top up.”

Another measure that helped the sales is adapting the range to meet changing customer habits. He has increased his grocery, household and pet care categories, and unlike some stores where impulse sales are down, Bagha’s have remained strong.

“The biggest challenge is availability of brands or pack formats that I usually stock,” he said. “If I can’t get the leading brand, I’m getting an alternative so my customers still have an option. It’s really important that I still have products on offer and my customers appreciate it.”

“My aim now is to retain our new customers,” Bagha added. “We pride ourselves on being reliable and friendly, providing the best service and great products. We’re building relationships with these new customers and I’m confident that we’ll continue to see them as regulars after the crisis has ended.”