In the latest of a series of interviews with businesses in the preschool sector, PreschoolNews.net speaks to Katie Jones, owner of Weasel and the Bug, an independent toy and gift retailer in Chester, about how they and their business are fairing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Firstly – how are you and your team – we hope safe and well?
Thanks for asking – we are well thank you, given the current circumstances.
What is the current state of play for your shop – are you managing to stay open for online and telephone orders?
We have an online store, so customers have still been able to buy from us and to be honest the level of sales we have had have been really surprising! We offer a family vibe in our store and have been keen to promote the fact that they are still buying from us, even though they are not seeing us face to face.
What is the current demand like – are you still as busy?
We are not as busy as we would be if the shop was still open, but we are ‘ticking over’ which is as much as can be expected right now. Looking at the customers using the website it tends to be the same ones we have come into the store usually. As much as it would be great to be getting new customers online, we are pleased to see that we have really good community support during this time from our regular customers.
Have you seen any spike in demand for any particular product?
Yes! One particular product we have noticed a spike in is wooden tool boxes. The product was mentioned in a local Facebook group which led to lots of orders, which has been great! I guess maybe the demand comes from the fact that kids want to be helping parents out with all the DIY that is being done at homes right now!
Are there any suppliers that are going out of their way to help at the moment?
There has been a mixture of support to be honest. Either suppliers are sticking to payment terms with no exceptions during this time, or they are making it clear that we can contact them if we are struggling, which has been really helpful. Little Concepts for example have been a stand out supplier during this time.
Are you able to get any help and support from the government during this time?
Nothing else apart from the government funding and support available to most businesses. There is a great local initiative from the Chester Business Improvement District who have created a virtual map indicating what local retailers are offering; such as take away food for cafes/restaurant and online sales for shops like ours. This is a great tool for local people to use so they can see what options they have in the town to shop locally.
How much is social media helping during this time?
So much! All the recommendations and referrals we are getting to our website are through social media, such as the wooden tool boxes which have been popular. I try and upload as much content as I can, but it has been hard with two children at home as well during this time! However, we have uploaded activity sheets for children to do and I recently posted a crossword which included things we sell in the shop. We have a closed Facebook group as well so customers can exchange ideas. The customer experience is really important for us, even during this time, so we make sure customers know they can contact us at any time and we offer Skype calls and WhatsApp messaging to make things easier for them.
What is your (hopefully positive) outlook for when we reach the other side of this? Are you hopeful for a busy summer with consumers heading back to the high street?
I personally think there will be a hesitancy from a lot of the public to go back to the high street after the lockdown finishes as they will be worried about being around people again. However, I think this could have a positive impact on the local community whereby customers will continue to shop local and buy online from local retailers. I noticed that there had been a spike before all of this started of people wanting to support local businesses more and I really think this will continue now that people have been forced to do it in some respect during this period of time.
