“If you want to order online you should do so quickly because the small shops desperately need clients right now,” Letzshop manager Jerry Klein told Delano on Wednesday. “If they die out now they won’t resurrect after the crisis, which will impact the attractiveness of city centres and throw people into unemployment. We don’t want that.”

Since shop closures began three weeks ago, the number of shops joining the ecommerce platform has swelled to 300, with an additional 170 requests being submitted. This was largely helped when the government announced it would waive shop registration fees for the entire year.

According to Klein the number of orders is “exploding”, multiplying by 55 compared to before the crisis. “We saw a peak in chocolate orders just before Easter. But then we see also everything related to gardening happening right now,” Klein said.

Last year, the platform recorded the majority of transactions in books and alcohol, after both book chain Ernster and drinks supplier Munhowen got on board. Books continued to be popular. Klein said he had not observed a big jump in alcohol sales however an increasing number of local wine producers were starting to get onboard.

Delivery delays

The dramatic ramping up of business via the platform has not been without its challenges. The delivery timeframe was pushed back several days to cope with demand. Klein said he expected things to return to normal by next week and added that he believed delivery from Letzshop retailers was still faster than some global e-commerce platforms which have considerably greater means.

Currently Klein and his team are working minimum 10-hour days to respond to the growth. To add to the workload, the Letzshop team played a key role in establishing and now operating the corona.letzshop.lu, an online grocery store for the country’s most vulnerable residents.

“We managed to put that in place within four working days,” Klein said, explaining that Letzshop worked with retailers, Post and the government to coordinate provision, storage, sale and delivery of basic foodstuffs. According to figures published last week, the site is receiving around 200 orders per day. “We’re not complaining, we’re busy but we’re happy,” Klein said