The children are all back at school and the heatwave is long gone. But if the pavements of the North Yorkshire fishing village of Robin Hood’s Bay are anything to go by, business is still very much booming. A well-to-do looking woman of advancing years puffs her way into the shop, Berties of Bay. “I swear most of my customers come in just to catch their breath,” says proprietor Matthew Pugh with a wry smile.
In all fairness, Berties is at the top of a very steep hill, the main drag down to the beach. It’s the perfect stopping point for people recovering from the ascent. The woman regains her breath enough to buy a postcard, while a young man examines a cable-knit sweater before taking down the shop’s online store details. Former retail buyer Pugh opened Berties of Bay in 2016. “I was walking up the hill one day and saw a sign in the shop saying it was available,” he says. “I had no money and no plan so, of course, I called immediately.”
The plan that quickly formed was to sell things he loved. Initially that was lanterns, plants, prints and other homewares. “I bought enough stock for a day,” Pugh says, “then I sold out and put a sign on the door saying, ‘Gone shopping.’”
From day one, it was crucial to have the right payment options in place, says Pugh. “I’d get people coming in telling me we were the only place that took cards, and many still don’t, which is unbelievable.” He chose the iZettle point-of-sale system because it was cheap and easy to use and had no onerous lock-ins.
After its first year, Bertie’s stock evolved into clothing and candles (the brand has its own range inspired by the smells and memories of childhood holidays in the area, including Slipway, reminiscent of sweet shops , and Chalet 74, evoking Granny’s chalet breakfasts). The shop is both a high-end workwear lifestyle outlet and a tribute to coastal heritage, with black and white photographs of fishermen and Whitby-pattern cable sweaters.
As prices rise and ready cash becomes less common, it’s crucial for tourist economies to do all they can to survive. Over in Whitby, where the pavements are equally crammed outside of tourist season, David Ellis runs the harbourside Marine hotel and its smaller sister restaurant across the road, the Moon & Sixpence.
Ellis has seen a change in customer behaviour since he started. “Twelve years ago, the Moon & Sixpence was 80% cash and 20% card, now it’s 60% card and 40% cash. However, at the Marine, cash is virtually non-existent.” For Ellis, a reliable card payments system is essential. He’s installed iZettle in the hotel and is in the process of also getting it in the Moon & Sixpence. “It’s more user-friendly than the old clumsy systems we had,” he says. “We are able to add terminals within 24 hours if we need to, making it very adaptable.”
In a town like Whitby, if you don’t take card payments, you’re going to go out of business, says Ellis. “People want to pay for one coffee with contactless now. You have to be able to accommodate that.” iZettle’s flat rate also means that businesses such as the Marine hotel can accept Amex easily. “Compared with how it was five years ago, these charges make a real difference,” says Ellis.
Janet Lawson has run the Rustic Baking Company, based in the nearby village of Sleights, for three and a half years (having worked in catering since 1985). She spends three days baking and three days on the road selling her wares in the region, everywhere from York station to Humber Bridge Farmers’ Market.
For her, the iZettle – which she’s had in place since April this year – is invaluable. “I dread to think how much trade I used to turn away through not taking card payments,” she says. The fact there’s no minimum spend means she can sell relatively cheap items (at £3 and £4 a pop) without worrying about adding extra costs. Moreover, the card reader’s charge lasts all day and there are no wires, which makes selling at markets and pop-up events much easier. “The money’s in my account within two days,” she says. “I wish all my sales were like this.”
Ed Hallett, managing director at iZettle UK, says retailers are realising they need to be where their customers are, and “iZettle gives you the tools to sell in-store and down the beach in your ice-cream van.” In a seaside destination such as Whitby, one of the biggest challenges is the peaks and troughs brought about by the seasons. “Because we don’t have ongoing residual costs,” says Hallett, “like some of the legacy payments systems, it means you aren’t paying for a service you don’t need.”
This works at the other end of the scale too. At peak times in summer (and during the twice-yearly Whitby Goth Weekends), queues can be overwhelming, but an integrated card reader and touch screen can keep the sales flowing.
iZettle also offers a merchant cash advance, where clients can apply for advance sales funding against a percentage of future sales. Hallett says this thinking demonstrates how hard iZettle is working to solve its customers’ pain points, whether that’s speed of service, accessibility or cash flow.
“Retailers want something that makes running your business as easy as running your social media,” he says.
