Village chippy triples online sales with FOODit
A small village fish and chip shop in Nottinghamshire has achieved record sales after putting its business online with restaurant website builder FOODit.
The Chip Inn in Whitwell started taking online orders and offering delivery two years ago, in which time sales have increased by a third.
Owner Tim Moncaster, who took over the takeaway from his parents when they retired 17 years ago, said: “Online ordering was something I thought about for quite a while. I saw a lot of our local competitors go online, I order everything online and I think, like me, there is a set of people now that do order everything online.
“Our online sales have literally tripled and it’s all business from further afield, so people that wouldn’t have ordered from our shop before. We’re a small, family business in a little village, to find us you’ve got to know about us. Going online has really boosted us and given us more of a presence.”
The Chip Inn employs two drivers and delivers not only fish and chips but also burgers, kebabs and jacket potatoes. Tim adds: “I did think about using the big companies like JustEat etc., but I saw the amount they were taking in commission and just thought it was too big a risk to take. With FOODit, the commission is much lower, the setup fee is minimal and so far they’ve been brilliant. If I want a product online, within minutes it’s on. And any help and support we’ve needed, they’ve been there and taken care of it.”
Thanks to a smart ‘VIP’ feature on his website, Tim knows who his new and most loyal customers are. He comments: “We use this information to give customers a little treat to say thanks. If it’s a new customer, we’ll put some non-brewed condiment in with an order. We like to treat our regular customers too, so we’ll do the same for them as a way of saying thank you. It’s a great feature that helps keep us in customers minds.”
The Chip Inn was named the Most Highly Recommended Takeaway at the FOODit Independent Takeaway Award 2019. Tim said that the free local PR generated by the FOODit team following his win, helped to achieve his best-ever week of sales, adding: “Not every tech company gives you PR and marketing support – I highly recommend the guys at FOODit – they have been supporting our business to grow from day one.”
FOODit www.foodit.com