Episode 53: How Click & Collect is Reshaping the Future of Fish & Chips with Nick Hucker

Digital transformation in the hospitality industry has accelerated dramatically in recent years, and fish & chip shops are no exception. In Episode 53 of The Ceres Podcast, host Stelios Theocharous sits down with Nick Hucker, CEO of Preoday, to discuss how Click & Collect services are not just a temporary trend but a long-term necessity for independent operators.

Preoday, part of the Quickserve group, has provided digital ordering solutions to hospitality businesses for over five years. But when the pandemic hit, demand for their services surged. Hucker and his team had to pivot rapidly, cutting their onboarding process from weeks to 48 hours to help businesses stay afloat.

One of the standout insights from this episode is how Click & Collect is reshaping consumer habits. Hucker explains that many customers now actively choose to support their local businesses by ordering directly rather than through third-party delivery platforms. This shift presents a massive opportunity for fish & chip shops to own their customer relationships and avoid hefty commission fees from aggregators like Just Eat and Deliveroo.

As Nick puts it: “People are thinking locally and supporting locally. They want to buy food from a particular operator, and they want to go direct.”

By offering a seamless Click & Collect experience, shop owners can build brand loyalty, retain valuable customer data, and even offer incentives like discounts for repeat visits. Unlike aggregators, where the platform keeps customer details, Preoday ensures operators have full access to their own customer data—a crucial advantage in today’s digital-first world.

One of the most compelling aspects of this discussion is how quickly Preoday adapted to industry needs. Traditionally, setting up a digital ordering system would take two to four weeks, but due to high demand, they streamlined the process to get fish & chip shops to live within 48 hours.

How did they do it? By prioritising web-based ordering over mobile apps. While mobile apps offer long-term benefits, getting them approved and live can take weeks. Instead, Preoday focused on embedding Click & Collect directly into a shop’s website, allowing businesses to start taking digital orders almost immediately.

This approach ensures that even the most minor operators can compete with larger chains by offering their customers modern, convenient ordering options. The conversation also touches on the pros and cons of third-party delivery platforms. While aggregators provide instant access to a large customer base, they charge high commission fees and own the customer relationship.

Hucker advises shop owners to think strategically: “In the short term, you do what you have to do to survive. But in the long term, you want to move those customers over to your own platform.” By gradually transitioning customers from third-party platforms to direct ordering channels, fish & chip shops can reduce costs, increase profitability, and build stronger customer relationships.

The episode concludes with a discussion on the long-term impact of digital ordering in hospitality. Hucker predicts that Click & Collect will become a standard customer expectation, like online reservations or contactless payments.

For fish & chip shops, adopting digital ordering isn’t just about survival—it’s about future-proofing the business. As the industry continues to evolve, having a strong digital presence and a direct ordering channel will be critical for success.

This episode is packed with valuable insights for fish & chip shop owners looking to navigate the changing landscape of digital ordering. If you’re still relying on walk-in customers or third-party aggregators, now is the time to take control of your online orders. Listen to Episode 53  on your favourite podcast platform and learn how to future-proof your fish & chip shop with Click & Collect.