The Nunhead Gardener joined CSY Retail Systems in 2017, a year after setting up their first site under the railway arches in Nunhead, London. Specialising in small gardens, balconies, indoor plants and gifts, The Nunhead Gardener provides Londoners with a way to make the most out of the smaller spaces available to them. 

Challenge

As the pandemic hit in 2019 and everyone was forced to stay indoors, the demand for appealing outdoor spaces grew and The Nunhead Gardener found business booming. They opened up a new warehouse alongside more stores in Camberwell, Elephant Park and Mayfair, ensuring that everyone had access to the supplies they needed to make their outside space their own. 

The garden centre were relying heavily on their CSY EPOS to see them through this busy period. This growth created a demand for solutions that could help future proof the business and allow them to evolve seamlessly. 

This included finding ways to ensure that sales continued after this surge in business by providing flexible shopping options, incentives and rewards to their customers.

Solution

Scaleable EPOS - When The Nunhead Gardener first implemented CSY's software they knew that growth was a possibility in their future which is why the scalability of CSY was so important to them. “If we ever did decide to grow we knew it would give us the scalability to be able to do that - which is exactly what ultimately went on to happen!”said Peter Milne, founder and co-head gardener.

The future-facing solutions included: 

CSY, WooCommerce integration - This enabled them to manage their website and start trading online, providing customers with simple convenient ways to shop with them during the pandemic and beyond.

Gift cards - With the new online capabilities The Nunhead Gardener were also able to introduce digital gift cards that are sold online and usable in stores as well as  rolling out the physical gift cards too that are also usable online and in-store.

Implementing a loyalty scheme - To ensure they could maintain future sales The Nunhead Gardener also implemented a loyalty scheme. Customised to their brand, the loyalty scheme reinforced the brand image with customers and provided them with an incentive to keep returning. 

What did the CSY and The Nunhead Gardener team have to say?

CSY team: “It's a real pleasure working with Peter and everyone at The Nunhead Gardener. They're a fantastic team - passionate, friendly, and helpful. It's great to see how they've used our EPOS system, over the past 8 years, to keep things running smoothly as the business has grown. We can't wait to see what the next 8 years have in store, and I look forward to supporting them every step of the way.” Deanna Snowden, Business Development Manager

The Nunhead Gardener team: 

“The set up (of giftcards) was really straightforward. The helpdesk and implementation guys created a new database and rolled it out, and it made the whole thing really easy. We absolutely love the help desk. They’ve always done an amazing job and seem to be available instantaneously all the time, and manage to resolve all of our issues almost immediately. 

“The loyalty programme is extremely popular with our customers and it forms a big part of our marketing.” 

If you’re interested in expanding your garden centre and need an EPOS system that can scale with you, plus provide your customers with features they love, speak to a member of the CSY team today to find out more.