Despite the UK hospitality industry experiencing widespread downturn as a result of Coronavirus, figures recorded by high-street loyalty app creators, Stampapp, show a 12% increase in total stamps collected by their coffee shop traders in the last week.
Orders and loyalty stamps collected from roughly 300 sites across the UK show a day-by-day increase each day of March (data up to the 14th), coinciding with the sharp increase in confirmed cases that have since resulted in people self-isolating and working remotely.
Tom Messett, founder of Stampapp, says: “The numbers indicate that although it is clear the hospitality industry is experiencing a major slow-down due to Coronavirus fears, people are maintaining some level of routine in the form of their morning coffee. We’ve actually seen a 12% increase in total stamps collected so far this month vs the same time in February and a day-by-day increase in app usage each day this month. These small businesses form the backbone of many high streets and need as much support as they can get right now, so it’s great to see loyal customers supporting their local independents.”
Stampapp customer Camden Coffee House operates five sites across London, and figures from their loyalty app show a 13% uplift month on month from loyal regulars.
Sunni Parekh, founder of Camden Coffee House, says: “Like businesses across the country and throughout the world, we’ve seen a slowdown in business overall. Despite this, it’s encouraging that our regulars are still coming in every day and shows the underlying strength of our business.”