Help the High Street this week as part of Shop Local Week!
There are lots of great reasons to support your local shops and retailers, not just this week, but in the months and years to come:
- Help the High Street and support the local economy. Shopping at local businesses pumps money into our local Broadland economy. By spending money in our local shops, restaurants, cafés, and pubs, you can do your bit to help our national recovery across the country.
- Save jobs - and create even more. Supporting our high streets creates jobs in our local communities, supporting often young and disadvantaged people to find employment. Helping to grow the number of jobs in Broadland makes for a better place to live and work, which then creates a healthy economy for our whole community.
- Great deals. People are often surprised to see just how competitive the prices are in our local shops. Independent retailers often reward regular customers, while others provide great deals that can't be found in major outlets - meaning people save money as they spend. Consumers can also save money eating out - the Eat Out to Help Out scheme is being provided by the government, saving diners up to £10 per head on eat-in meals on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays in one of the 73,000 participating businesses across the country. You can find your nearest participating pubs/restaurants here.
- A safe way to shop. Our local businesses have worked hard to follow government guidance and implement a series of measures to ensure you're safe while you shop, such as customer limits in store, plastic partitions at tills, and hand-sanitising stations.
- Preserving the heart of the community. A thriving high street is key to boosting the potential of a town or village where people can socialise as well as shop. Local businesses also generate revenue to support council services such as libraries, parks, and roads.
- Spoilt for choice. Small and local businesses often stock goods and produce made locally and not available anywhere else, providing a great choice of unique and quality products that bring much-needed originality, creativity, and variety into communities - including rare finds and items that aren't mass produced.
- A better shopping experience. Small businesses are often run by people who live nearby and really care about their local community. As the UK continues to recover from the pandemic, the experience of buying locally from a friendly face offers a dose of normality that many people have missed.
- Help the environment. Local shops often source their goods locally, helping to reduce their carbon footprint. When shopping local, people are also more likely to walk or cycle there - doing their bit to reduce air pollution, reduce traffic, and improve the quality of the nation's high streets.
