Help Support Independent Retailer Month
Today marks the fourth annual campaign of 'Independent Retailer Month', which calls upon you, the general public, to support small, independent businesses by making more informed decisions on where you spend your money.
Independent Retail Month is an annual campaign which runs throughout all of July, aiming to raise awareness of thousands of local businesses and to increase footfall into towns and villages ultimately helping retailers stay in business.
Many consumers are unaware of the value they can add to their local economies by shopping with independent retailers. Research carried out by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) for Federation of Small Business (FSB) found that for every £1 spent locally, 50-70p re-circulates back into the local economy. In contrast, only 5p of every £1 spent out of town finds its way back to the local community.
At Bigjigs Toys, we are proud to support and supply independent retailers around the world something which we have been doing for the past 29 years. As part of our commitment to those who have supported us, we continually try to find ways to support these businesses through differentiation and innovation. One example of our continued support is our online shop, which allows consumers to purchase our products but the orders is fulfilled by our retailers based on meeting certain criteria i.e. stock levels, geographical location etc. This way our retailers do not miss out on sales placed online, garnering extra income, sales and custom.
We also stopped retailers from selling on third-party websites...helping to support our retailers further than we did before. In an age where austerity meets a shift in purchasing behaviours, many of our high street retailers have found trading conditions difficult, partly due to consumers being able to find the same products cheaper on third party selling sites. By stopping people selling on these sites, we can maintain the RRP, ensuring that bricks and mortar stores are no longer fighting and competing against a price war.
Whilst we try to make changes to support our retailers, we hope this campaign encourages you to re-engage with your local businesses and to discover the benefits of shopping closer to home.
You can be support the Independent Retailer Month campaign by joining in the conversation online across social networking sites using the hashtag #indieretail. Followers can like the Independent Retailer Month UK facebook page, follow @IndieRetailUK or subscribe for updates at www.independentretailermonth.co.uk. Alternatively you can pop to your local town or village and buy from your local indies.
Many consumers are unaware of the value they can add to their local economies by shopping with independent retailers. Research carried out by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) for Federation of Small Business (FSB) found that for every £1 spent locally, 50-70p re-circulates back into the local economy. In contrast, only 5p of every £1 spent out of town finds its way back to the local community.
At Bigjigs Toys, we are proud to support and supply independent retailers around the world something which we have been doing for the past 29 years. As part of our commitment to those who have supported us, we continually try to find ways to support these businesses through differentiation and innovation. One example of our continued support is our online shop, which allows consumers to purchase our products but the orders is fulfilled by our retailers based on meeting certain criteria i.e. stock levels, geographical location etc. This way our retailers do not miss out on sales placed online, garnering extra income, sales and custom.
We also stopped retailers from selling on third-party websites...helping to support our retailers further than we did before. In an age where austerity meets a shift in purchasing behaviours, many of our high street retailers have found trading conditions difficult, partly due to consumers being able to find the same products cheaper on third party selling sites. By stopping people selling on these sites, we can maintain the RRP, ensuring that bricks and mortar stores are no longer fighting and competing against a price war.
Whilst we try to make changes to support our retailers, we hope this campaign encourages you to re-engage with your local businesses and to discover the benefits of shopping closer to home.
You can be support the Independent Retailer Month campaign by joining in the conversation online across social networking sites using the hashtag #indieretail. Followers can like the Independent Retailer Month UK facebook page, follow @IndieRetailUK or subscribe for updates at www.independentretailermonth.co.uk. Alternatively you can pop to your local town or village and buy from your local indies.