A combination of Brexit, the pandemic and subsequent war in Ukraine has caused significant supply chain issues for businesses across the UK. Whilst this situation has improved since its peak at the end of summer 2021 when stock levels for British retailers hit their lowest levels since 1983, significant hurdles still remain causing increased wait times for customers and halting companies from pushing on with growth plans.

However, a new sales model is emerging which mitigates any risk for businesses in terms of excess stock and ensures consumers receive their goods on time, all whilst creating an air of exclusivity about the product. Swytch Technology, the UK’s leading e-bike engineers – have been using a ‘crowdshopping’ model since their inception in 2017, and are on track to secure a 10% share of the entire UK e-bike industry by next year.

Crowdshopping essentially refers to a pre-order model, with customers signing up to a wait list and companies then typically offering three or four releases of their product each year. In this way, firms know almost exactly what level of demand they’re facing, months in advance, allowing them to only buy the stock they need. By planning ahead, businesses are then much less likely to be affected by any supply chain issues – and according to Swytch, not offering the instant gratification of next-day deliveries is far from a deterrent.

The UK-based firm has gone from selling almost 16,000 e-bike conversion kits in 2020, to having sold 30,000 since their last release in September. What’s more, the firm has built a waitlist of over 700,000 people who’ve registered an interest in their next release. Swytch Technology CEO/Founder, Oliver Montague, explains that not only is their crowdshopping model efficient from a logistics perspective, but also assists in creating demand for the product.

This comes amidst data from Companies House and gov.uk showing that between 30 and 40% of businesses fail at the three year mark, highlighting that UK firms are struggling with scaling amidst the current economic downturn. With Swytch predicting to sell over 50,000 units annually by the end of next year – representing a 218% increase in their 2020 figures – other businesses in the UK’s retail sector may be set to follow suit in the coming months.