Canterbury convenience store still a main contender

A Canterbury shopkeeper has said that it is possible for small businesses to stay afloat in the current economic climate.

The International Monetary Fund has predicted that the UK has a 17% chance of slipping in to a double-dip recession.

With the on going supermarket wars in Canterbury, there are worries that the smaller convenience stores will struggle to keep up with the competition.

At the beginning of the month, a new Waitrose store opened in the city, adding to the already fierce competition.

Kitty Patel, owner of the Longport Londis store, has said that customer service is key to surviving the predicted double dip recession. She insisted that a happy customer is a customer for life.

Mrs Patel said, “Sometimes competition is healthy, I think. The new Waitrose is more expensive than my other competition so in a way it almost draws people in to my store.”

The owner of the Longport Convenience store has said that it is possible for smaller stores to stay open, even with the impending doom of the potential dip in the economy.

Mrs Patel gave her top tips for keeping afloat, saying that loss-leaders are a must for attracting customer attention.

There is now also a growing trend of convenience stores offering services such as bill payment and parcel collection in order to keep ‘convenient’ for customers.

The shop owner said it is important for businesses not to become greedy. She added that in order to keep customer loyalty, you sometimes have to sacrifice profit margins.

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