Lockdown trade booms at iconic Doncaster shop as locals ditch big supermarkets

Shoppers in Tickhill have flocked to family run store Taylors – and the shop has been so overwhelmed by orders for delivered groceries from existing as well as new customers, they have changed operating hours to ensure they can provide a safe service.

The shop opens for walk-in customers in afternoons only with mornings spent picking orders for delivery and re-stocking the shop.

Owner and proprietor, Chris Taylor, said: “We have been absolutely inundated with orders for our delivery service and have just made our 1,000th delivery since lockdown began.

“It was already well established before the current situation but numbers wanting the service over the past few weeks have rocketed with emails and phone calls coming in round the clock.

“At the start of this current situation, we were trying to pick orders, we had our own deliveries coming in and we had shoppers in the shop – it was becoming impossible to do all the jobs and keep everyone safe and socially distanced.”

Chris said many locals who only usually appear in-store at Christmas time are now regulars, buying essentials in their local shop close to home, rather than travelling outside to larger supermarkets.

“Like all independent retailers, we have found different ways of doing the same thing to make sure we have what our customers need. It’s hard work and very long hours but customers are happy, and staff are safe, and the new way of working is still profitable,” said Chris.