ShopMate Supports Budgen's 400th Convenience Store

Budgens Riverside is the 400th Budgens store in the UK, supported by RDM Graham Tinkler who has helped pull together training for the retail team, merchandising advice and promotions as well as organising the ShopMate EPoS and Self-Serve units. It was Graham’s suggestion to opt for the Budgen’s fascia to take advantage of the upmarket branding to appeal to the town’s demographic.

Service is really important to manager Tristan and his team, which is clear from the moment you enter and are warmly welcomed – this is surely what drives the constant stream of customers that we witnessed during our visit. When the local caravan park is full, the team are aware it’ll be much busier which is one of the reasons they opted for two self-serve units which will ensure a seamless checkout even when the store is really busy.

Just across the river is Ad Gefrin English Whisky Distillery with a beautiful new facility that attracts around 50,000 visitors per year (including me – it would be a shame to come all this way without having a little look!)

Local produce

The store is already supplying local produce – I was lucky enough to sample the delicious cheeses from local producer Doddington whose award-winning dairy is based in Wooler. Residents can also pick up Doddington Ice Cream and local meat from butcher RG Foreman and Son.

The store’s Facebook Page is a perfect example of the type of content that keeps customers engaged. We recommend you pop over and take a look. You can see they’re actively promoting their new Local Loyalty card and have already got more than 850 customers signed up for offers and updates since it was launched in November 2023. They plan to continue to promote new offers and will be using their Media Master screens to promote their own in-store promotions to customers.

Find out more about ShopMate's MediaMaster Screens to make the most of your promotions:

The store is spacious and the layout has been well planned by the Budgen’s merchandisers so that all items are easy to find.

Future plans will include local delivery which the team are certain will help them make the most of sales from the town’s visitors at the caravan park and be welcomed by local residents.

If you haven't read it yet, see our article on the development of the Budgen's Wooler Store.

Images courtesy of Caters Photographic.