Search
Close this search box.

York fish and chip shop ready to offer WeChat Pay and Alipay as Chinese shoppers drive growth

This is an archived article - we have removed images and other assets but have left the text unchanged for your reference

Scotts Fish and Chips, near York, has seen a huge increase in Chinese tourists visiting its restaurant – and is set to start offering Alipay and WeChatPay on mobile to help these customers get their hands on their cod and chips. 

According to the retailer, Chinese tourists now make up around 10% of sales and the company has signed up with JGOO, a next generation mobile payments platform, to allow Chinese customers to pay for their food via WeChat Pay and Alipay – two popular payment methods among Chinese citizens. 

The restaurant will also be using JGOO to market its new restaurant in the southern Chinese city of Chengdu, which it aims to open in the next three months.   It is also looking at ways of using JGOO to market to Chinese citizens who may be visiting the UK soon.

In July, Scotts Fish and Chips estimated that more than 1000 Chinese tourists visited its restaurant every week, making up around 15% of its total customer visits. The most popular meal ordered by the restaurant’s Chinese customers is cod and chips prepared in the traditional Yorkshire way cooked in beef dripping.

Since Chinese President Xi Jinping enjoyed a fish and chips meal with former British Prime Minister David Cameron in 2015, many Chinese tourists visiting the UK are keen to try the dish.

Analysis of industry data from JGOO reveals that around 6.6% of the total number of nights spent in the UK by Chinese tourists is in Yorkshire, and around 5.6% of their total spend in the country is in the region. 

Through JGOO’s official partnerships with WeChat Pay and Alipay, it provides brands with direct trading access to the Chinese market, connecting UK and European brands to Chinese shoppers and tourists  It not only provides a payments gateway for them to pay for British goods when visiting the country or when buying online via WeChat Pay and Alipay, it also has a team of Chinese nationals in the UK to help clients develop social media marketing campaigns via WeChat.

Restaurant owner Tony Webster says: “Fish and Chips is a very iconic British dish and many Chinese tourists are keen to try it.  We pride ourselves on having some of the best fish and chips in the country and are delighted that so many Chinese tourists visit us to try it.  This is a huge growth market for us – both here in the UK and soon to be in China – so we have signed up with JGOO to not only make it easier for our Chinese customers to pay for our food, but also to market to them.”

Richard Morecroft, Director and Co-Founder of JGOO adds: “We offer the opportunity for British companies to engage effectively with one billion Chinese citizens.China represents a huge opportunity for British businesses, but many have failed to tap into this or even consider it.  This is changing – perhaps fuelled by Brexit – and we are seeing a growing list of enquiries from British businesses.  Scotts Fish and Chips is the latest addition to our list of clients’, and we look forward to working with them to support their growth.”

Read More

Register for Newsletter

Group 4 Copy 3Created with Sketch.

Receive 3 newsletters per week

Group 3Created with Sketch.

Gain access to all Top500 research

Group 4Created with Sketch.

Personalise your experience on IR.net