Renfrewshire business accelerates its revenue by almost 100% in three years

About the business

ShopMobility Paisley & District aims to address social isolation and loneliness through the hire of mobility equipment, which is either low-cost or free of charge, giving those with limited mobility more freedom and confidence.

Part of ShopMobility UK, a network of centres which hire out mobility equipment to the public, the Renfrewshire business, which is based out of the Paisley Centre car park, began as a small community group almost 30 years ago and is now one of the largest mobility operations in the region.

How Business Gateway has helped

ShopMobility Paisley & District Office manager, Karen Miller, has worked for the business for almost five years and was looking for opportunities to help scale the operation and address issues with the website functionality.    

In 2019, she contacted Business Gateway where local adviser, Gary Kenyon, quickly identified that the business would benefit from DigitalBoost one-to-one support.    

With the help of Scotland's leading digital upskilling programme, in the last four years, ShopMobility has benefited from vital services including a specialist review of its original website, establishing a new business Facebook page, and a new e-mail system.    

Through the DigitalBoost service, the business was referred to a digital specialist, who has provided regular advice on using digital platforms, from improving social media content to using social media insights to guide when to schedule posts.    

The upskilling project, which was rolled out amongst the ShopMobility team, has seen them reach a bigger catchment area, put a new booking system in place, and drive awareness of the services via social media.    

As a result, the business has increased its turnover from £29,000 to £56,000 since 2020. The team has also expanded and now includes a full-time technician, two assistant managers and one customer service advisor.    

Business Gateway was also central in helping guide ShopMobility to secure crucial funding of £54,000 from the National Lottery in 2022 which will help consolidate, stabilise and grow the business even further in the future.     

Karen Miller, Office Manager at Shopmobility Paisley & District, said: “Business Gateway reaffirmed to us the importance of having excellent digital marketing skills, and with the help of Gary and the wider team, we are now much more confident in our abilities.    

“The support and guidance we have received from Business Gateway over the last four years has played a significant role in our growth and I’m looking forward to seeing how we can continue to grow this vital service in Renfrewshire into the future.”