Riding high: digitally connecting with retail customers
Jing Li loves the cycling community. Through Ccache, his bicycle components retailer and distributor, he’s connected to people with one important thing in common: they love to ride.
This sense of connection has been everything during Covid-19, he says. The relationships he has with customers, suppliers and the wider community have made it possible to embrace what was already working and pivot to new ways of doing business. “You can get caught up in thinking how crappy this whole situation is,” he says, “or you can make the best of it.”
Ccache, which has one physical store, in Surry Hills, Sydney, was already operating a bit differently from many retail businesses. It never limited itself to traditional distribution channels, Li says, which mitigated many of the typical issues retailers have faced during the pandemic. Having a strong understanding of customer needs also helped, especially as Ccache supported increased demand for entry level and commuter products from customers looking for ways to stay active.
“You can get caught up thinking how crappy this whole situation is or you can make the best of it.” Jing Li, Ccache.
“I think people are starting to see that there’s a whole mental benefit to cycling and exercise in general,” Li says. “I think around this period of our lives, it’s super important that we are not only just physically fit, but mentally fit. It takes a lot to go through what everybody is going through.”
Ccache’s biggest challenges have been forecasting and spending capital. In an industry as unpredictable as retail, Li had to think carefully about the way he had always done things.
“Our business was structured [to be flexible] already: the way we purchase and the way we sell will always work. We’ve always sourced our own brands and imported our own products. Covid-19 has reinforced to us how important it is to forge relationships that we control ourselves, because if something were to happen again, having more options is always going to be good.”
Having a system that could manage all Ccache’s retail transactions made it simple to appeal to all customer needs. “Since our expansion into retail, having a seamless process at our stores for our customers to check out is super important,” Li says. “The POS system from Square has been really good for us: it’s a modern way of transacting with the customer. And the ability to transact not just from the point-of-sale system but manually transact by sending an invoice or manually inputting credit card details, that’s really valued.”
As conditions change and business evolves, Ccache has a strong foundation heading into the future. “We’re excited to be exploring expanding our shop to other states,” Li says. “We intend to open our second shop before the end of 2021.”
From kegs to cans: reimagining hospitality in online spaces
“On a normal Saturday, pre-Covid, we normally get about 700 people through. Obviously, that completely shut down in 2020.”
As the taproom manager at Sauce Brewing Co, in Sydney’s inner west, Caleb McGeachie loves to welcome guests to the city’s biggest beer garden. But like most hospitality businesses, Sauce felt the heavy impact of Covid-19.
“In a lot of ways, our business completely changed,” he says. “We had to significantly turn our operations into selling ourselves online and only selling to bottle shops and off-premises. We basically had to change the whole premise of the thing – [from kegs] to can only. A lot of our production went down.”
At the time, Sauce didn’t have a substantial online presence. Its online store was rudimentary and it tinkered occasionally with social media. “But with the pandemic and only selling online, we really had to push the social media aspect and push stuff online and put it through our Square online store,” McGeachie says.
With the doors closed, the team looked for ways to keep its community together. Regulars ordered brews to drink at home, and Sauce even hosted online events to keep up the face-to-face vibe. McGeachie expects Sauce’s digital activity to continue to grow over the long term.
“Selling our products online definitely is something we’re still doing now and it’s still significantly more than it was pre-pandemic,” he says. “Our social media presence is increasing. We understand we need to have not just an online store but the social media presence as well. We have rejigged our taproom, brought in ordering from tables, and I think that will stay with us. We’re working with a lot of the food trucks in the area and creating more of a dining-in experience as well.”
“Our business completely changed.” Caleb McGeachie, Sauce Brewing Co.
When restrictions lifted and the brewery reopened, community was still at the heart of Sauce’s business. “People would come here and they felt that they were safe, they felt like we were doing the right thing,” McGeachie says. “That was the biggest thing in 2020 – making sure people felt as safe as possible.”
And like Ccache, Sauce has found that the unexpected changes have also delivered new opportunities. “We went national, as well,” McGeachie says. “We actually opened a second brewery in Cairns just after the pandemic hit.”
While hospitality and retail businesses have faced change and uncertainty, there have been upsides. With creative thinking and a willingness to adapt, alongside digital tools such as Square, they have come back better prepared than ever – and ready to succeed.
Find out how you can set your business up for success with Square.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. For specific advice applicable to your business, please contact a professional.
