Halifax Store Offering ‘Facetime Shopping’ During Pandemic
HALIFAX — “If I hear the word pivot one more time, I’m going to punch somebody,” Wendy Friedman said.
The owner of Biscuit General Store made the comment as she tuned out of a “not very useful” webinar last week.
Friedman is doing whatever she can to try to stay afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic (webinars included) but said she didn’t need to hear any more advice about pivoting her strategy.
“It’s like, yes, no kidding guys. We heard that two days in. This is not rocket science,” she said.
But, like almost every small business owner, Friedman has had to… refocus to make it through the pandemic.
Bisucit sells a chic selection of local books and gifts, but does the bulk of its business from clothing sales. Like any smart retailer, Friedman poured resources into e-commerce and got set up for online sales. She was even awarded a grant to help beef up Biscuit’s online shopping platform.
But Friedman recognized early that a simple online store wasn’t going to be enough. To compliment her e-commerce platform, she’s also been offering delivery, contactless pickup, and private shopping appointments for people who are immune-compromised.
She’s even started taking some customers on personal “Facetime shopping” appointments.
Not long ago, Friedman had a customer in the hospital who “wanted something to cheer her up,” so Friedman spent an hour with her on Facetime taking her around the store. Probably not the best use of her time under normal circumstances, but during a pandemic, Friedman said every single sale is vital.
Now, she’s doing a couple of Facetime shopping appointments a week, usually after she personally reaches out to customers who have expressed interest in one of Biscuit’s products online. She even has customers who have moved to places like Toronto and Winnipeg reaching out for one-on-one remote shopping sessions.
During the appointments, she or one of her team members will take a customer them through the shop, and anything they want to buy can be delivered, or held for contactless pickup.
“If someone would comment on something on social media, I’d say, hey, I’m happy to jump on Facetime with you, or do you want to order that? Or, I have it in your size,” Friedman said. “We’re just trying to do whatever we can to be available.”
Friedman says personal, digital shopping appointments is something she never thought of doing before Covid-19, “but I also just felt like we needed every single sale that we could possibly make.”
That was true when Biscuit shut down during the height of the pandemic, but Friedman says it remains true even now that the shop is back open.
“We’re having to work a lot harder for every sale, and we really need every sale because a lot of our costs don’t change whether we’re busy or not busy,” she said.
Even when her sales were down by 90 percent she still had to pay the same rent, the same insurance, and many other fixed costs. Facetime shopping was just part of going into “survival mode.”
“I’m a fighter. I think I’m a real entrepreneur, and I was looking around going what can I do? So we just started offering it to people,” she said.
That was true, as well, of the contactless pickup system Biscuit started running during the pandemic, and its delivery operation.
“All of a sudden I’m like, okay, we’re a delivery service, now that’s my business too? You have to be all these different people now. Just, whatever it takes, you know?”
Friedman says she’ll continue to do whatever it takes and does expect Biscuit to come out of the pandemic intact, even if she has to close down again during a potential second wave.
Yesterday, the shop even posed a job opening for permanent, part-time work. Bring your “energy, style, and positivity” to the job and you might find yourself running Biscuit’s next facetime shopping appointment.