@angela.chick for Just a Card
Most of us shop at big supermarkets with heavy hearts, so it pays to know tips to help support local indies, even if you don’t have many left, or find them expensive. Owners of indie shops can help by offering loyalty cards, free local foot/bicycle delivery and in-store events. It’s true that if you don’t use them, you lose them. So what can we collectively do to help stop the takeover by giant corporations?
- Know what you are selling. If you sell plants, it’s important to know pet-toxic plants and houseplants to avoid recommending.
- Start small. A bag of organic carrots or a loaf of artisan bread makes all the difference. You then by default support the local signwriters who have lunch in the local pub etc. Big supermarkets tend to pay staff, then all other money (from management to produce) goes elsewhere.
- Take a morning or afternoon to really explore where you live, to find hidden gems. Perhaps there is a little baker or deli or gift shop down an alley, or in the next village? Make a list of items you buy on a regular basis, then find out if there are local indie shops you could support. Go for quality over quantity. Nobody needs a bag of 12 dinner rolls, if you live alone or in a small household. Buy two good rolls from the baker! Find an ironmonger to buy one picture hook.
- Benefit from discount cards for indie shops like Local Buyers Club (London) or Mustcard (South East). Vegans can also find cards to give discounts in indie health stores, which pay for themselves in weeks. Another way to save money is to amend your lifestyle (walking to shops saves petrol, and cooking real food means lower food bills).
- Shopappy lets indie shops list their goods online. Customers in 100 towns are already ordering goods this way, with home delivery.
- Set up an indie shop website like in Oxford or Cambridge (the latter has a free magazine, available in local shops throughout the city).
- Run a local indie shop? Offer loyalty cards, rent the upstairs room to local book clubs or yoga class. Or band together with others and create a local blog about indie shops, with special offers.
- A great idea from the US is a local coupon book. The Sunrise Guide is printed annually with lots of eco information and money-off vouchers for local green shops and services. It pays for itself within weeks, so the books sell themselves. Schools and non-profits sell them on sale or return, keeping 50% of profits.
- Apply for a free license to set up a Totally Locally town. The site is also working with councils to set up local websites, so people can shop at lots of indie stores on one website. Read their book The Economics of Being Nice, which looks at how this grassroots campaign to shop local has grown to a worldwide movement, with no budget, marketing or sponsorship. It has flourished purely on word of mouth, from good people sharing ideas, so others may benefit. The book also is a guide to the Totally Locally town, with inspirational stories from people who have been able to take back their high streets from big chains.
- Read books to save your indie shop.
