Scapino & SumUp: The perfect fit

The Scapino story

Founded in 1974, Scapino are veterans when it comes to all things shoes. Although the footwear and fashion supplier has been around for decades, they still remain a powerhouse in the industry today, bringing an easy and affordable retail experience to the Netherlands. Scapino have earned themselves a devoted customer base, offering an extensive range of products from beloved brands topped up with excellent customer service and hard-to-beat discounts. 

Like for many businesses, COVID-19 brought about many abrupt challenges for Scapino that demanded change. Pre-pandemic, the majority of the brand’s sales were made in-store with only a small percentage online. However, due to strict lockdown restrictions and closures, customers could no longer shop at their local Scapino store, so online shopping became their go-to when buying their new kicks. 

Staying connected 

Although the physical stores were shut, sales never dipped, and so Scapino faced a huge task in switching their business to fully online. There was still a demand from customers who usually shopped in-store, so Scapino needed to act fast and come up with a way of keeping local branches and their employees in the loop when making sales. 

The solution? Taking the store to your door. Employees from over 170 Scapino stores were deployed to bring shoes to the homes of their clients, replacing in-store with at-your-door sales. This initiative meant that customers still got to experience the social element of shopping at a safe and comfortable distance. It also meant that Scapino staff could stay connected to those who motivated them the most—their customers. 

Simple solutions for complicated times 

Scapino’s new way of selling shoes had some kinks to be ironed out: employees needed a practical approach to making sales that was compact and reliable while on the move. That’s where SumUp came in. Scapino got in touch with us and within days 170 of our SumUp Air Card Readers were deployed to their staff enabling them to take payments for orders on the doorsteps of their customers. 

This meant no fiddling with cash or carrying change, and contactless delivery and payment meant Scapino staff could maintain relationships with their customers and keep up in-person sales safely. By getting their hands on easy-to-use devices that accepted all types of cashless payments, the staff at Scapino were able to adapt fast, and the results are there to prove it. 

Taking struggles in their stride 

After their initial order of 170 SumUp Air Card Readers, another 170 devices were shipped out to Scapino branches in a matter of days. In their first month of working with SumUp, Scapino processed over 34,000 orders. Partnering their business with SumUp meant that Scapino could make up for lost in-store sales while keeping their employees and customers safe. Instead of having to completely shift to an online marketplace with overwhelming demand, Scapino found a new approach to in-person sales powered by SumUp’s practical payment solutions. Considering its success, this new element of Scapino’s service will now become a permanent part of their business, rather than a quick fix for pandemic problems. 

If you think SumUp is a fit for your business and you’d like to talk to our Sales team about a custom offer, get in touch via the form below.