BOSS staying afloat with e-commerce platform

BOSS staying afloat with e-commerce platform

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A well-known ‘back-to-school’ retailer yesterday acknowledged that while this shopping season does not compare to previous years up to this point, its e-commerce platform has helped the business “stay afloat” during the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Audricka Turnquest, an executive at Bahamas Office and School Supplies (BOSS) told Eyewitness News: “August would have been a big month and it wasn’t. We do have shoppers. People are looking for supplies and we can get busy and have some lines outside around the weekend time. It still doesn’t really compare to last year.”

She continued: “What has been really beneficial is our online platform. We saw good numbers on our site. It has definitely kept the business afloat. Beginning back in March, a lot of sales were coming through our website.

“We had the website for five-plus years and in the past two years made it possible for online purchases. It took the pandemic for customers to really utilize the site. They can place their orders and have them delivered.”

Still, Turnquest noted that the businesses still generate far more in-store traffic.

“Even with the back-to-school season, the store still does more in a day than the website, but it was most important when there wasn’t a choice.

“It really kept us afloat during the hard months, but is still just a percentage of what we normally do.”