Brixton Village/Granville Arcade indoor market, Brixton

[Frumious B.]

I've never used one. Are they a good idea? Much growth potential?

 

[Boudicca]

How close does it need to be to the tube? I happen to know of a local shop with some space, but it's 235 metres away, round a corner.

Alas, I think it would need to be closer as otherwise people will still end up in the Sainsburys Local.

 

[Rushy]

I've never used one. Are they a good idea? Much growth potential?

I think they're great. You pay online and print so just have to hand it over in shop and get a receipt. If you use ebay it prints all the details for you. Shops are usually open until 11pm so you can drop parcels off at any time. Fully tracked and only £3.99 up to 2kg. Max 10kg. I think there is also the option to have items posted to you delivered to your nearest Collect+ if there will be no one in to receive them.

 

[tarannau]

Not quite relevant to the market, but I have to say that I have started using a debit card to buy my lunchtime sandwiches in Pret and it's a hell of a lot easier and quicker than using cash - no selecting and/or waiting for appropriate change and the transaction is finished well before the sandwiches have been bagged.

I find this absolutely the opposite around my workplace (Vauxhall) fwiw. The local Pret is full of people who, after failing to carry any cash out with them, are strangely surprised into fumbling into their bag/wallet/cycling codpiece when the total is proffered. Same with the cafe under work, when long queues build up behind waiting for the £4 acceptance of someone's jacket spud. Give me a quick pass of a note or even, hell forbid, something approaching the correct change anytime. Taking a little cash out generally shows a little more respect for those waiting behind you, not that the disorganised numpties lacking cash or the foresight to take out the card out of their pursey-walley thing in advance would credit that.

And nope, I don't believe accepting cards would revolutionise Brixton market's takings fwiw.

 

[pissflaps]

'cycling codpiece'?!

/throws money at screen

 

[Ms T]

I

They're not entirely reliable. When Eme tried to give them a package for delivery, she got a real 'WTF' look. She hasn't bothered trying to use the service again.

I've used it a few times from that location without any problems.

 

[Ms T]

There are several issues here for me. The better stalls I used to use, which stocked good quality seasonal produce, have gone as the owners retired. So now I use other local businesses such as Nour or A&C Continental (which stocks hard to find stuff like broccoli rabe and escarole), or I go to the farmer's market on a Sunday. The veg stall there does a roaring trade. You have to get there early to be guaranteed asparagus, for example. As others have said, the choice in the regular market isn't that good.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Because people tend to not carry much cash on them these days. If they accepted card payments more people would head to the market and make impulse buys.

And you're basing this on...what exactly? Your own perceptions, or decent data?

 

[ViolentPanda]

An awful lot of stall purchases are under £4, and it takes a lot more time to process a credit card than take the cash.

Even if it didn't (and the latest incarnation that allows you to wave your card over a machine means it takes about the same time as fishing your notes out of your wallet), there's still the issue that traders have to pay a charge for card transactions, so while taking cash costs them nothing, taking cards would gnaw away at their margins, and fuck knows, margins on perishables aren't high, once you take stock depreciation into account.

 

[Frumious B.]

There are several issues here for me. The better stalls I used to use, which stocked good quality seasonal produce, have gone as the owners retired. So now I use other local businesses such as Nour or A&C Continental (which stocks hard to find stuff like broccoli rabe and escarole), or I go to the farmer's market on a Sunday. The veg stall there does a roaring trade. You have to get there early to be guaranteed asparagus, for example. As others have said, the choice in the regular market isn't that good.

Too true, the selection of posh veg, e.g. cherry tomatoes on the vine, rocket, fine beans, is terrible, that's why I go to Tesco so much. I don't get up early enough for the farmer's market.

 

[lang rabbie]

There are several issues here for me. The better stalls I used to use, which stocked good quality seasonal produce, have gone as the owners retired. So now I use other local businesses such as Nour or A&C Continental (which stocks hard to find stuff like broccoli rabe and escarole), or I go to the farmer's market on a Sunday. The veg stall there does a roaring trade. You have to get there early to be guaranteed asparagus, for example. As others have said, the choice in the regular market isn't that good.

Way back in 2004, after an unsuccesful search for "good enough" veg in the covered markets, I posted:

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Q1 Any views on which stall might have the best range of fresh salad veg for a buffet to feed large numbers?​

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Q2 Any experience of a stallholder/other local greengrocer willing to fulfil a special order for decadent "bourgeois" veg of the sort needed for Nigel Slater style recipes?​

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[Retreats rapidly expecting rotten greens to be thrown at this attempt to gentrify the market]​

and Mrs M replied sensibly​

Well the stallholders tend to get what's left over after the supermarkets get their pick...I have often heard them moaning that supermarkets are affecting what the small shopkeeper or stallholder can get hold of wholesale.......

 

[ffsear]

A survey done by visa, was on bloomberg a few months ago, trying to find a link

 

[cuppa tee]

A survey done by visa, was on bloomberg a few months ago, trying to find a link

no disrespect intended, but you can hardly call Visa impartial [ or Bloomberg either for that matter]

 

[editor]

I get very good food fruit and veg from the market. But then I'm rarely after fancy stuff.

 

[Kanda]

Went to Satay Bar last night, apparently they buy 40% of their produce locally.

 

[newbie]

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and Mrs M replied sensibly​

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If that's the case why is the fruit n veg at Berwick St or Ridley Road somewhat better quality than Brixton or East St? There are plenty of places in and around London town to buy non-woody carrots or a cabbage in the prime of life. Sadly this bit of South London doesn't have many of them.

tbhI don't believe the supermarkets are big factor at New Covent Garden at 4am buying veg which was picked yesterday and will be sold and eaten today. sfaik they mostly commission entire crops direct and ship from the farm straight to their chiller/packing/distribution center.

I haven't been there for years but I recall an early morning visit to NCG as a great, free, something-every-Londoner-should-do-at-least-once experience for the fantastic array of fruits, veg and flowers and for watching the canny, experienced buyers seeking out the best quality/price point for their customers.

 

[fortyplus]

Most of the market traders seem to get their stuff from New Spitalfields market in Leyton, not from New Covent Garden, because Spitalfields has a better range of Afro-asian produce. Seems bloody miles to drive across London at sparrowfart when NCG is practically on our doorstep and has more better stuff that the new demographics of Brixton are likely to buy, but then what do I know about running a fruit-and-veg stall.

 

[ffsear]

no disrespect intended, but you can hardly call Visa impartial [ or Bloomberg either for that matter]

None taken. But then do we even need a survey to figure it out!

 

[Rushy]

None taken. But then do we even need a survey to figure it out!

Do you mean the Barclaycard survey which found that 61% of people prefer cards to cash for payments under £20?
Funnily enough Bank Machine (the company who supply cash machines) had a survey carried out which "proved" that contactless was not taking off and that people prefer cash.
It does seem that there is a lack of general awareness about how contactless works (fraud protection, etc..) but that once it has been explained to people it is liked. One of the advantages is that, unlike cash, if you lose a contactless card you don't lose your money. And you are protected against fraudulent use. I reckon it will catch on pretty quickly. That said, my new debit card was delivered yesterday and it is not contactless enabled so I won't be participating the the immediate future.

 

[newbie]

Most of the market traders seem to get their stuff from New Spitalfields market in Leyton, not from New Covent Garden, because Spitalfields has a better range of Afro-asian produce. Seems bloody miles to drive across London at sparrowfart when NCG is practically on our doorstep and has more better stuff that the new demographics of Brixton are likely to buy, but then what do I know about running a fruit-and-veg stall.

didn't know that and I've never been there. The website says it's bigger and more exotic than NCG so maybe I should, the old Spitalfields before it moved was good fun.

Found this fascinating chart http://www.wholesalefruitvegetableflowers.co.uk/images/seasonality_chart.pdf

 

[editor]

It does seem that there is a lack of general awareness about how contactless works (fraud protection, etc..) but that once it has been explained to people it is liked. One of the advantages is that, unlike cash, if you lose a contactless card you don't lose your money. And you are protected against fraudulent use. I reckon it will catch on pretty quickly. That said, my new debit card was delivered yesterday and it is not contactless enabled so I won't be participating the the immediate future.

I've had a contactless card for years and I think I've used it wirelessly precisely twice.

 

[Rushy]

I've had a contactless card for years and I think I've used it wirelessly precisely twice.

There will be a "Tipping point" soon, I'd wager, unless something even more convenient tied into you mobile phone quickly replaces it.

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[editor]

There will be a "Tipping point" soon, I'd wager, unless something even more convenient tied into you mobile phone quickly replaces it.

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It's still a fair way off any kind of mainstream retail adoption, at least away from big city centres. There's already many phones with built in NFC and supporting technology that allow contactless transactions, but it'll be a long time before local shops offer it at standard. And, of course, a lot of people haven't got/can't afford/don't want contactless cards/phones.

 

[Crispy]

It's like chip and pin. As people's cards get replaced, it'll become default. ANywhere you can currently use C&P will be contactless in 5-10 years.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

It's like chip and pin. As people's cards get replaced, it'll become default. ANywhere you can currently use C&P will be contactless in 5-10 years.

I've done the sound at a few conferences for Barclaycard, it will be a lot less than this. The whole contactless/phone payment thing is massive for them at the moment.

 

[Rushy]

This about mobile phones always comes to mind regarding how quickly things suddenly change:

For the first decade the predictions that mobile communications would not be mass market seemed correct. "In 1995, 10 years into the history of mobile phones, penetration in the UK was just 7%," according to Professor Nigel Linge, of the University of Salford's Computer Networking and Telecommunications Research Centre. "In 1998 it was about 25%, but by 1999 it was 46%, that was the 'tipping point'. In 1999 one mobile phone was sold in the UK every 4 seconds."​

By 2004, there were more mobile phones in the UK than people – a penetration level of more than 100%.​

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[editor]

It's like chip and pin. As people's cards get replaced, it'll become default. ANywhere you can currently use C&P will be contactless in 5-10 years.

Oh, it's certainly coming, but like I said, it's still a fair way off mainstream adoption. 5-10 years is a VERY long time in tech.

 

[editor]

Interesting piece here. Quite a few banks still aren't offering contactless cards as standard replacements, and some customers remain to be convinced....

Some of Britain's banks have only issued contactless cards to a small proportion of customers and a survey published last week found many people are wary of the technology...

New research from price comparison site Gocompare.com claims that only 6% of Britons have so far made a contactless payment using a credit or debit card. This was based on a survey of more than 2,000 UK adults carried out in March. The study also found that large numbers of Britons are wary of new payment technologies, with one in four saying they find the idea of contactless payments "scary".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/may/04/contactless-payments-banks

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Of course, for small retailers they don't have to reply on a traditional bank supplied card machine anymore. There's a load of new companies offering payment services, such as Square and iZettle

 

[Rushy]

Interesting piece here. Quite a few banks still aren't offering contactless cards as standard replacements, and some customers remain to be convinced....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/may/04/contactless-payments-banks

But in today's news there has been a 46% increase in usage in just three months. That's huge.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...tless-payments-grow-46pc-in-three-months.html