Independents' Day UK campaign to culminate in full weekend celebration of indie retail sector across 3/4 July
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News
Ind
ependents' Day UK, an initiative that emphasises driving footfall to independent shops on July 4th each year - has announced that for the first time, it will culminate in a full weekend of celebrations highlighting Britain's indie retailers, across Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th of July.
The campaign's organisers are asking consumers to "pledge a few pounds" to independent retailers, by spending at indies across the weekend. Independents' Day UK will be sponsored by Local Rewards, a programme developed by social media specialists, Maybe* Tech, which allows retailers to communicate with and reward shoppers - and is now live across hundreds of towns and cities across the UK.
Howard Robinson, a spokesperson for Independents' Day UK, commented: "The British independent retail sector has shown real resilience in the face of the Covid crisis across the last year, operating through extreme uncertainty and putting on a brave face for their customers and wider communities.
"We are asking the public to show their thanks by simply heading out across the weekend of July 3rd and 4th and spending a few pounds at a independent, or locally-owned retailers."
Independents' Day UK is supported by and works closely with, among others, the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira), the Independent Retail Confedration (IRC) and the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM).
Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira said, "Independents Day will soon be with us again - this time better and over a whole weekend. This year is probably the most important year for indie retail, as businesses look to rebuild following the pandemic.
"The money spent in local, independent shops makes a real difference to business owners and the local economy, so it would be great if the general public could support this campaign and spend at independents."
The campaign team estimates that last year, over 8,500 small shops across the UK engaged with the campaign - and is hoping that figure will reach at least 20,000 this year. Around 100 different town management teams, business improvement districts (BIDs), chambers of commerce and local business groups across the country participated in initiatives to promote the day.
This year's initiative, is sponsored by Local Rewards, a high street guides service launched by social media specialists Maybe* Tech.
The programme allows retailers to communicate with and reward shoppers now they have returned to the high street, it has been created with the intention of ‘levelling the playing field' between local retailers and giants like Amazon.
Participating retailers are able to cross-promote and support their high street neighbours to create an online network of connected traders.
Local Rewards also allows shoppers to see businesses near them and view their social media content as they are shopping the town or city. The aim is to provide every shopper with a prompt after each high street purchase that reveals somewhere else nearby that they may like to discover. All of the content is sourced from social media, connected via Google Maps and is connected to High Street payments from Visa, Mastercard and Amex.
ependents' Day UK, an initiative that emphasises driving footfall to independent shops on July 4th each year - has announced that for the first time, it will culminate in a full weekend of celebrations highlighting Britain's indie retailers, across Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th of July.The campaign's organisers are asking consumers to "pledge a few pounds" to independent retailers, by spending at indies across the weekend. Independents' Day UK will be sponsored by Local Rewards, a programme developed by social media specialists, Maybe* Tech, which allows retailers to communicate with and reward shoppers - and is now live across hundreds of towns and cities across the UK.
Howard Robinson, a spokesperson for Independents' Day UK, commented: "The British independent retail sector has shown real resilience in the face of the Covid crisis across the last year, operating through extreme uncertainty and putting on a brave face for their customers and wider communities.
"We are asking the public to show their thanks by simply heading out across the weekend of July 3rd and 4th and spending a few pounds at a independent, or locally-owned retailers."
Independents' Day UK is supported by and works closely with, among others, the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira), the Independent Retail Confedration (IRC) and the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM).
Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira said, "Independents Day will soon be with us again - this time better and over a whole weekend. This year is probably the most important year for indie retail, as businesses look to rebuild following the pandemic.
"The money spent in local, independent shops makes a real difference to business owners and the local economy, so it would be great if the general public could support this campaign and spend at independents."
The campaign team estimates that last year, over 8,500 small shops across the UK engaged with the campaign - and is hoping that figure will reach at least 20,000 this year. Around 100 different town management teams, business improvement districts (BIDs), chambers of commerce and local business groups across the country participated in initiatives to promote the day.
This year's initiative, is sponsored by Local Rewards, a high street guides service launched by social media specialists Maybe* Tech.
The programme allows retailers to communicate with and reward shoppers now they have returned to the high street, it has been created with the intention of ‘levelling the playing field' between local retailers and giants like Amazon.
Participating retailers are able to cross-promote and support their high street neighbours to create an online network of connected traders.
Local Rewards also allows shoppers to see businesses near them and view their social media content as they are shopping the town or city. The aim is to provide every shopper with a prompt after each high street purchase that reveals somewhere else nearby that they may like to discover. All of the content is sourced from social media, connected via Google Maps and is connected to High Street payments from Visa, Mastercard and Amex.