Reaching 'Tipping Point'

Written by Steve Collinge - International speaker, thought leader, retail influencer and commentator, MD Insight Retail Group & Executive Editor Insight DIY.

Back in December I wrote an article titled ‘An entirely new product opportunity’ which highlighted the incremental sales and profit available for Home Improvement retailers and merchants, through the selling of SumUp card readers. Three months on, I’m delighted to tell you that Eurocell, Brewers, Ironmongery Direct, City Plumbing and Screwfix are all now taking advantage of this opportunity and offering the products to their trade customers.

You can read my original article by clicking here. 

What’s the proposition?

For me the proposition is a clear win-win. A retailer or merchant has the opportunity to make incremental margin on the sale of a small range of card readers to their existing trade customers, who are then able to use the devices during their day to day work to receive deposits and full payment from their customer far more quickly and easily then the existing way of just issuing invoices.

Who are SumUp?

SumUp are the leading mobile point-of-sale company in Europe. The business was founded in 2011 and launched its first product in 2012. They built their payment service from scratch to shake up the banking industry and ‘to wake up the entrepreneur within anyone’. They created a unique device that along with the smartphone that’s in all of our pockets, allows small businesses and tradespeople to accept card payments anywhere.

Whether the businesses are building extensions, landscaping the garden or painting rooms, SumUp focuses on providing technology that anyone can use - so the tradespeople can get on with what they do best. From paperless onboarding, to taking the very first payment to printing receipts on the go, they make it simple and easy. Traditional banking offerings tend to ignore smaller businesses, and SumUp are open and up-front about their pricing with no hidden fees.

Earlier this month, following the successful growth of the business, SumUp scooped another €750m of additional funding from both new and existing investors. The fund raising was oversubscribed and saw participation from Goldman Sachs, Visa, PayPal and Mastercard.

Marc-Alexander Christ, co-founder of SumUp, said: “As one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the world, this cash injection - in addition to having the built-in option to expand the financing - will significantly accelerate the growth of our customer base, enhance SumUp’s technology leadership position, and drive the development of new services to support our merchants globally.”

Today, SumUp has 3000+ employees, 50+ nationalities, presence in more than 3,000,000 small businesses, annual revenue of €200 million in 2019, NPS between 68 and 72, Trustpilot score 8.6/10 and is one of the fastest growing companies in the EU and across all 33 of their markets globally.

The new SumUp 3G + Printer Kit

New to the market in February, Alongside the existing SumUp 3G Plus Wi-Fi Card Reader SumUp have now introduced SumUp 3G Plus Printer aimed at bringing simplicity and flexibility to businesses.

The SumUp Card Reader offers multiple useful features, with built-in 3G SIM card free, unlimited data and Wi-Fi connectivity, you can take payments anywhere at any time. Pair it with the SumUp Printer for the ultimate customer experience. Fully mobile, with fast connection and even faster transactions. Print on-the-go and detach your device and printer when needed.

The SumUp 3G + Printer has the following features:-

• Comes with a built-in SIM card, FREE unlimited mobile data and Wifi connectivity.
• Make up to 50 transactions on a single charge.
• No fixed costs or contractual obligations.
• Print receipts and charge your reader.
• Retail price is ￡149.

How does the payment system work? – 

SumUp’s wireless card reader and iPad based point-of-sale (POS) system allow small businesses and sole traders to accept card payments anywhere, anytime. Its solution allows in-store, in-app, and online payments, and provides merchants with a dashboard where they can track and analyse their sales.

The SumUp 3G card reader is for those who want the simplest possible way to accept cards without any extra features or equipment. You just enter the transaction value directly into the device using the keypad, put in the chip card or tap the contactless card, and it will process the payment over the mobile network.

It’s a pay-as-you-go system, so a tradesperson purchases the card machine, then they pay only one fixed card rate for all transactions through the reader.

Watch the latest SumUp video here.

The key point is that there’s no need for a contract or other fees to commit to, making this a very economical solution for many businesses operating within the Home Improvement industry. It’s ideal for companies who need to take a payment device to customers’ homes or who attend exhibitions and events, market traders or even start-ups that can’t predict where they’ll be beyond the next few months.

So who’s already on board?

The retailers who are already taking advantage of the incremental opportunity include:-

Eurocell - supply a full range of quality UPVC products to homeowners, specifiers & trade customers and with 208 branches are one of the largest retailers of their type in the UK. The company went live online with SumUp in February and they are currently rolling out counter display units to selected stores.

Brewers - are the UK's largest independent decorator's merchant with 178 branches, meeting the needs of professional painters and decorators across the UK, with a wide range of trade products, designer brand paints and wallpapers. Brewers went live with SumUp in January 2021 on their website and across all branches.

IronmongeryDirect – One of the UK's largest specialist supplier of architectural ironmongery to builders, joiners and shop fitters for over 50 years. With over 18,000 products in stock and ready for next day delivery, the range includes door furniture, door handles, hinges, cabinet hardware, door closers and much more. SumUp went live on the Ironmongery Direct and Electrical Direct websites in November last year.

City Plumbing – Part of the Travis Perkins Group, the Plumbing and Heating company spans the trade, home improvement and DIY markets. With 9 successful businesses in the division they have 4,500 colleagues across more than 370 branches around the UK and Ireland and SumUp is now live on their website. 

Screwfix – With 711 branches, Screwfix is the United Kingdom's largest multi-channel retailer of trade tools, accessories and hardware products. Screwfix offers the SumUp range through their website.

The incremental opportunity

Here at Insight DIY, we are constantly on the look-out for products and services that will  grow the market and deliver incremental sales and profit opportunities to Home Improvement retailers, merchants and suppliers.

It’s rare for us to come across an opportunity that is capable of delivering truly incremental sales and I mean, every single pound generated. It’s even rarer to find a product or service that delivers equal benefit to the supplier, the retailer or merchant and the end user, whether that is the trade or a consumer. SumUp achieves this and with a growing list of retailers and merchants already on board, I think it’s only a matter of time before the others follow.

Steve Collinge is an international speaker, influencer, retail commentator and is Managing Director of Insight Retail Group Ltd and executive editor of Insight DIY. You can follow Steve on LinkedIn here on Twitter here and contact him via DM on LinkedIn.