Shopping Local - If you can, please do. Let's take on those uncaring giants!
Because people who shop and businesses that provide quality services and supply goods in smaller, rural or island locations both rely on the other for survival, it's vitally important they remain mutually connected and supportive.
Even with the vast amount of goods that are available online, local communities and local businesses are lifelines to each other.
Yes it's possible to get a variety of items cheaper online, sometimes, incredibly, they can arrive the day after you've ordered them from places thousands of miles away and you wonder how it was even possible (even more impressive given I live on a rock in the middle of the North Sea)!
Some products can prove elusive to purchase locally and try as you might, easy as you thought it might be, it can be seemingly impossible or highly impractical to source them in your locality - then by all means, online is a good option to have.
The majority of local business owners that I know are committed to trying their utmost to provide the best service possible along with quality products at prices that are as competitive as possible.
Many work hard, listen to consumers, are flexible and remain open to change or development where possible and endeavour to accommodate the needs, wants and requirements of their clientele. Equally vital too are the customers' who willingly commit to shopping and spending what they can afford locally and in doing so support these businesses.
This is the group of people the #shoplocalfirst free advertising campaign we are currently running until late December is aimed at assisting. Our focus is to help encourage and hopefully bring both shopper and business together to experience the mutually beneficial gains of engaging with each other.
We've created a simple but effective collection of adverts which we plan to roll out across all the platforms we have available to us. These include local newspaper and online advertising, social media posts, large format and commercially printed media to get what we feel is an important message out to as many as we can.
Our aim is that the free #shoplocalfirst campaign we are running for Shetland is effective, raises more awareness and resonates with shoppers. Businesses play their part by continuing to do their level best to ensure they have the relevant requested goods to supply the demand.
Declaring an interest as part of our local business community, we have a retail bookshop on our local high street. Like all other independent book and gift shops, we continue to fight against the main, all consuming giant book and gift selling business known to all, way out yonder! To help us do this we now have a "shop front" at uk.bookshop.org/shop/shetlandtimesbookshop
"Bookshop.org is an online bookshop with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops. Bookshop.org can help strengthen the fragile ecosystem and margins around bookselling and keep local bookshops an integral part of our culture and communities".
This allows us to compete with this/these giant companies who appear to be trying their level best to suck revenue streams for any and all products they can lay their hands on, books being a particular favourite!
Joining/creating uk.bookshop.org/shop/shetlandtimesbookshop is our way to help local clients, expats or those looking to support independents, shop online for all their books, get great prices and #shoplocalfirst.
I am, of course, also a consumer and make the effort to shop locally from a business and personal perspective. I'm hopeful the majority of our community will continue to support #shoplocalfirst and others consider switching to #shoplocal. All smaller, rural independent shops here at home and around the globe, I wish you well and send my best wishes for a successful future.