Towns that have a local shopping area, such as a Main Street or a niche market like Antique Row, are generally more successful in their shop local campaigns because it gives them a marketing edge. From maps to directions, encouraging strolling to street fairs, a town with an area of conveniently located stores has an easier time of convincing people to shop local.
Why You Need a Shop Local Scene
A shop local event is not so much a quick in-and-out approach but rather, encouraging a leisurely hunt for treasures. Shopping local is something to be enjoyed, an event, a Saturday morning activity. Without a “scene” or an area, it’s hard to make an event out of it.
If you encourage people to spend time exploring and shopping local, they’ll spend more money at both boutiques and restaurants in the area.
How to Transform Your Area into an Extended Main Street
If you don’t have a Main Street, and endless construction permits, it’s difficult to create one. Short of long-term dedication in recruiting businesses and working with the city to create a charming downtown, you’ll need to make the most of what you have and bring attention to your larger, spread out area.
Here are a few tips on how you can do that:
Map it. Create a whimsical map of local shopping and eating establishments. Circulate these to newcomers, visitors, and locals. If you keep the file on your computer, you can update it easily and add new businesses. You can either add every business in town or make it a source of non-dues revenue by charging a nominal fee to be featured. Consider creating an online version that’s mobile friendly.
Chamber gift certificates. Creating a chamber gift certificate program (or one sponsored by a shop local organization) will give people an incentive to try new shops and eateries as they’ll be detailed on their gift certificate redemption list.
Offer local loyalty cards. Create a buy local card that gets stamped or offers discounts at local stores.
Create a scavenger hunt or bingo game. This sort of forced exploration drives traffic to merchants who are off the beaten path. Just make sure you offer a map as well so your shoppers can find them with ease.
How are you driving buyers to your local shops if they’re spread out across town?
Image credit via Pixabay by FirmBee
