Angus shoppers are getting household essentials for just a penny in the countdown to Christmas.
Arbroath businessman Faisal Naseem says he hopes it will help local families struggling to make ends meet.
And he hopes customers will see it as a genuine helping hand as budgets are stretched to breaking point during the festive period.
How shopping essentials scheme works
The penny deal is being offered by the Cheers Plus store in Arbroath’s Grant Road through the Drop Shop app.
Faisal launched the online delivery app at the beginning of this year.
“If a customer spends £5 they will get a household essential for a penny,” said Faisal.
“We’ll start this in November and run it in six weeks up to Christmas.
“For a couple of weeks it will be bread, milk or eggs for a penny, then things like cheesy pasta.
“It’s staple items and we hope families will see the difference.
“Drop Shop has been two years in the making so I wanted to do something for the town at such a crucial time.
“Arbroath has given me so much – it’s where I grew up, learned business and established myself.
“And this situation we see now is affecting everyone.
Spiralling wholesale prices
“The retailers can’t possibly afford to do this on their own because we have seen costs rise so much,” Faisal added.
“On some items shopkeepers are looking at 40% increases.
“Some wholesalers stopped pricing things because they were increasing so much.
“And we’re talking about essentials here, not luxury items.
“They aren’t making a margin on this, the whole focus is on helping everyday households.”
Faisal says he wanted to encourage shops to “step up” for their communities.
“We can’t control the energy companies or the government,” he said.
“But we can try to help the people who come through our door.”
The scheme partnered with stores in Dundee and Angus.
“We all have businesses to run and make a commercial success of,” Faisal added.
“But this is also about doing what we can to help individuals and families through this situation.
“Community focus is the key,” he said.
Retailers hit
The impact of the cost of living crisis has been felt by Scotland’s biggest independent co-operative.
Retailer Scotmid’s sales in the first half of the year dropped almost £5 million year-on-year.
It’s led to the firm’s chief executive to call for a shopper voucher scheme to boost retailers.
John Brodie says he’d like to see something similar to a £145m economic stimulus scheme in Northern Ireland where every adult got £100 to spend on high streets.
