Forecourts are by their nature geared around people who are travelling, but home delivery services can help retailers reach customers having leisurely, so-called ‘big nights in’ – something that will only grow in popularity as we head into the darker months.
While there are a number of firms offering home delivery synchronisation for retailers, as a new entrant to the sector, the Scoot app from wholesaler Booker is already making inroads into the sector.
The first forecourt retailer to sign up to the service was Goran Raven, and a further two garages have since taken Scoot on: March Service Station in Cambridgeshire, and Jet Forfar in Dundee.
Sebastian Nonis, who owns the Forfar forecourt, signed up with Scoot in June this year, and says that while it is “early days” and there is competition in the local area from Snappy Shopper, customers are making good use of the rapid delivery app.
A recent big night in promotion that ran for a few days in June saw Jet Forfar offer Scoot customers a large bottle of Coca-Cola, a packet of Doritos, McCoys, and a bar of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk for just 99p, “did really well”, with the deal supported by Booker to help build awareness of Scoot.
Away from promotions, Nonis says he can get six or seven Scoot orders a day, with popular orders including crisps, drinks and alcohol – all key big night in items. The locally focussed nature of Scoot, meanwhile, means his deliveries typically only take five or 10 minutes to make.
Another bonus is that there’s no ongoing commitment to the app. “Once you sign up there’s no contract, so you can opt out when you like,” Nonis says. He adds: “But I think home delivery is definitely a part of the future of retailing. It’s good for people who are housebound, single parents, and even those who are just lazy!”
Damian Sanderson, Booker’s head of home delivery, says that while Scoot is “still relatively new in the forecourt space”, the firm is seeing “early adoption and strong potential”, with the service giving operators “a new channel for driving incremental sales and profit, particularly in high-margin categories like big night in”.
He explains that pizza meal deals, premium chilled ready-meals, and sharing snacks are all “consistently among Scoot’s top sellers”, and these items “tie in perfectly with the big night in occasion”. Sanderson adds that retailers can make use of Booker’s “readymade POS kits and digital marketing assets” to help promote sales, and that with around 80% of Scoot users not having visited the store they’re buying from before, the app is “an effective customer-acquisition tool”.
