Traditional turkey producers need to take full advantage of the move to placing Christmas orders
online and outside office hours, according to Paul Kelly, managing director of FarmGate Hatcheries.
In his annual spring newsletter to poult customers, he says that at Kelly Turkeys their online sales
increased in volume by 10% and farm-gate sales by 14%.
“Out-of- office hours ordering increased and the move to ordering from smart phones and tablets is
dramatic,” he said. “Investing in our website – and in point-of- sale material – has paid dividends.”
He also pointed to their success in capturing late orders: “12% of our sales were after
December 14. The major retailers close their order service on or around the December 14, but we
can keep open for a further week to provide great customer service.”
Another success was in changing the pricing structure from price per kg to price per bird, using
the midpoint on every 1 kg weight band to set the price. “I wish we had done it years ago,” said
Kelly. “Simple, easy and a no brainer.”