Despite major growth in customers and partnered store numbers, delivery firm Snappy Shopper reported a £1.6m loss during the first year of the pandemic as it rapidly upscaled the business.

Newly released accounts for the year ending 31 March 2021 show the company went from losing £436,000 the year before to £1.6m last year.

Experts attributed the loss to the cost of acquiring new stores and customers, which included leafletting, £5-off vouchers and local advertising.

190 PayPoint stores now partnered with Snappy Shopper

The delivery platform’s staff count grew from five to 35 during the period and post-results data provided to Better Retailing suggest the company has continued its expansion beyond March 2021.

Snappy Shopper said in the year ending December 2021 its staff headcount grew by 314%, while the number of partnered stores increased by 88%.

Commenting on the results, Snappy Shopper chief executive Mike Callachan told Better Retailing: “The business has continued its strong growth trajectory over the past year, during which we have more than doubled the number of retail partners and raised nearly £20m in a successful fundraising.

Top Snappy Shopper retail partner reports £1.25m annual sales

“The proceeds will significantly accelerate our next phase of growth across the UK, including investments in new services and support for our retail partners.”

Snappy Shopper said it would be concentrating on helping local stores to compete and recruiting new partners across the convenience and hospitality sectors.

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