MySmartyPants is a pure play etailer owned and managed by Joanne and Guy Jaques, operating since 2011.
How has the COVID-19 crisis affected online sales? Have you noticed spikes or dips in particular product groups (e.g.loungewear, soft cups…)
We have fared reasonably well. After an initial nose dive in sales at the beginning of the lockdown we are seeing steady traffic and a pick-up in transactions. We have definitely seen an increase in loungewear interest and our soft stretch products. Most interestingly is that there has been a very clear uplift in boudoir sales recently and we are also dispatching more internationally to France, Germany and the USA in particular.
How are you retaining your customer loyalty during the COVID-19 crisis?
We are keeping in touch with our customers as much as possible via email and social media.
Have you had problems in deliveries from your own suppliers?
Yes and no. We are very lucky that we have been able to continue to operate and our suppliers have bent over backwards to support us. However as a large amount of our lingerie comes from CL Group in France, the complete shutdown of operations for 2 weeks there put us behind initially. Thankfully CL Group are now able to pick, pack and despatch to us once a week so we can replenish stocks.
Have you had problems getting your orders out to your customers?
Some. We currently rely on Royal Mail and the Post office for our distribution. Staff shortages have led to reduced hours at our local post offices and often our preferred branch have had to close completely at short notice. Also in order to reduce journeys we only dispatch every other day at present.
With deliveries slower than normal have you extended the customers’ return period for unwanted/incorrect purchases?
Yes, we have extended our returns period to 60 days.
Do you use social media to keep in touch with customers – how big a part does this play in promoting your online business? Are you considering adding any new media such as Skype, Zoom to keep in touch
Yes, we have always used social media, mainly Facebook and Instagram but currently are not looking at other new media platforms. Whilst social media certainly serves its purpose, its more conventional methods of advertising via online search platforms that drives sales.
Have you been using other online platforms such as E-bay?
Yes. E-bay now plays a bigger part in our operation.
Realistically how do you think this will affect your online business for the rest of this year and perhaps even further down the line?
We are hopeful that we will benefit overall as we are currently reaching a new audience (as other larger online retailers were forced to cease operations for a short period). Once new customers have found us we hope that they will continue to shop with us.
Do you think you are being well enough informed by national government?
Yes. We don’t feel we can fault information coming from the Government as a business. Unfortunately, the agencies the Government require us to use (such as the banks) are not responding quick enough to support business or following the instructions given effectively.
Have you had difficulties accessing or getting information on the Business Interruption Loan?
Yes, but more in terms of getting guidance from the bank and what could be available. To date we’ve still not heard from our bank despite requesting information at the beginning of the lockdown.
Can you take advantage for yourself and/or any full or part time staff of the Job Retention Scheme?
No, we’re a limited company with minimal staffing costs and overheads.
Have you had any difficulty with your landlord/s?
No. We still operate from home so that is one blessing for us. We had considered looking for premises and or a shop prior to this crisis and our position would be quite different.
Would you consider doing an online poll with your customers, running stories to keep them occupied and asking them what they would like to see on your site?
Our Facebook followers are an interesting bunch who tend to like a lot of posts and share our page but are not particularly interested in commenting and giving us much feedback on the page. We have tried polls in the past and encouraging more communication but it is one area we have struggled with.
Has this crisis given you food for thought and inspired new creativity now you actually have more time to analyse?
Truthfully, unlike those businesses that have had to shut up shop we don’t appear to have much more time. Like the rest of the country we are at home with our daughter and trying to home school whilst we are still trying to work pretty much full time on two different businesses. Also we’d implemented system upgrades and other business developments earlier in the year that have already put us in a better position.
Have you any initiatives for special deliveries to charity or to the medical profession?
We have considered a number of things. Our initiatives are not publicised as we prefer it that way but currently we are supporting a local initiative, Cakes for Champions, funding the production of baked goods to frontline NHS staff in Lister Hospital (Stevenage) and Luton & Dunstable Hospital. We have also gifted products to known key workers.
