owners

Source: Nisa

  • The store closed its doors in the early stages of the outbreak to protect shoppers and staff

  • Shoppers can view product lists on the store’s Facebook page and order before 10pm for next-day delivery or click & collect

 

An independent Nisa retailer in Southampton has teamed up with a local taxi company to offer home delivery services to customers during the Covid-19 crisis.

The Maybush store, which closed its doors to shoppers in the early stages of the outbreak, also launched a click & collect service to help customers make purchases without putting themselves at risk.

Tanj Jagpal, whose parents run the store on a day-to-day basis, said the decision to close the doors was made to protect shoppers and staff.

“We know it was quite a bold move, and up until that point we’d been extremely busy, like Christmas every day,” Jagpal added. “But we felt there was too much risk for everyone and so we closed down and came up with alternative ways of serving our shoppers.”

The new system offers shoppers full access to product lists via the store’s Facebook page, with orders placed before 10pm available for next-day delivery. The click & collect service uses the same system, with customers picking up shopping from the store.

“We felt this was the most responsible way to operate so customers didn’t have to put themselves or others at risk by waiting in queues or being in close contact with others,” Jagpal said. “In addition, customers knew exactly what we had available as the product list was updated daily.”

The store has reopened to shoppers yesterday (27 April) with clear social distancing guidelines in place, reduced opening hours and plastic protective screens installed at tills.

“Our actions were well received by customers – they saw it as us taking responsible steps,” Jagpal added. “We’ll be continuing our click & collect service and, looking ahead, we will try to streamline it and make it an extra service to our customers, even when this is all over.”