New click and collect tech aims to boost local firms during lockdown

A technology firm is launching a unique ordering platform to help local businesses trade more safely and effectively during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Forage Lite, which is being launched today, will enable customers to order, pay for, and pick up goods, from local shops without having to come into the seller’s premises. Buyers only need a smart phone to access the new zero-contact click-and-collect way of shopping.

The technology service is designed for restaurants, take-aways, grocers, retailers and other small firms serving local communities. 

Graticule Personalisation, the firm behind Forage Lite, is currently offering the service free of charge to all small businesses in the UK.

Forage Lite works by allowing customers to order via text, Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. When the order is received and accepted by the shop owner, a link is sent to the customer to make the payment online.

The shop owner is notified when the payment is processed and is given the registration plate of the shopper’s car. When the order is ready the buyer is alerted and can drive to the outlet and text they have arrived. The shopper’s identity is confirmed through the number plate and the goods brought out and placed in the boot without the customer having to leave the car.

Customers who prefer to walk or cycle to an outlet can pick-up orders at a pre-designated point.

The online payments are secure and use Barclaycard or Stripe, a popular payments system used by thousands of small businesses.

Forage Lite, fast tracked to meet the crisis, was developed in four weeks using technology from Graticule’s Forage service which is being launched later in the year for supermarkets, restaurant and retail chains.

Graticule Personalisation is run by Rob Baker and Dave Hall who met when working on an inventory project for Starbucks. The pair, who founded Graticule two years ago, have tech experience with brands such as Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and KFC.

Graticule’s chief technology officer Dave Hall says: ‘There is no need to be a techie or have IT support to set-up Forage Lite. Shop owners and their customers can start using it as soon as they sign-up.’

Graticule’s CEO Rob Baker says: ‘Forage Lite will help local businesses operate more effectively and safely through the pandemic. It gives customers a more convenient and faster way to collect their orders while significantly reducing risk.’

Rob who lives in Langley Village near Macclesfield says: ‘Local shops are essential to keeping communities together and we want to do our bit to help them come through this difficult period.’  

Small shop owner can find out more about Forage Lite by clicking through:

https://foragelite.co.uk/