Illustrative example. Today: [Owner] walks the shelves on [day] with a clipboard, then rings the order through. After the fix: “Order for [supplier] drafted from this week’s sales and stock: [n] lines, £[x]. Running low: [product], [n] left. [Approve]”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
07 · Taking repeat work off the team
Your team is stretched, and you’re covering the gaps.
‘I can’t get staff, so I’m on the till and doing the orders after closing.’
What It Costs You
71% of convenience stores find it hard to recruit, 54% are cutting staff hours and 21% of owners take no holiday.
Source: ACS
Illustrative example. Today: “Where’s my order [n]? It’s been [n] days.” Staff check the courier’s site by hand. After the fix: “Order [n] dispatched with [courier], due [date].” “Your delivery is delayed. [Courier] now says [date]. [Wait] [Refund]” “Return started. Label attached. Your refund of £[x] goes through when it arrives back.”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
10 · Online orders, deliveries and returns
Online orders go wrong: deliveries, returns and refunds.
‘Half our emails are ‘where’s my order’, and returns take forever.’
What It Costs You
Citizens Advice took 17,744 clothing and footwear complaints in 2025, 82% about online orders; delivery made up 13% and returns 12%.
Source: Citizens Advice
Your Problem Isn’t Here?
The problems on this page are the ones we see most often in retail and online shops. Yours may be different, and that’s fine. Most fixes are found when an owner and someone who builds them sit down and go through how the work actually gets done. Tell us what’s costing you, and we’ll tell you straight whether we can fix it.
Read next
- Online returns: the deadlines the law setsThe cancellation, return and refund deadlines for UK online sales, and the rules for faulty goods, with a clock that works out your dates.
- AI is not a chat windowWhat the research says about AI in UK small businesses, why a chat window isn’t the answer and a one-line test for where AI pays.
Pick One Problem
Tell us which one. We’ll tell you whether we can fix it and how long it takes.