Shop Local, Shop Northumberland
12 Nov 2020 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
Northumberland County Council is encouraging residents to Shop Local, Shop Northumberland to support the economy in its recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Residents are being encouraged to support shops and small businesses in their communities, rather than travelling further afield or turning to online retail giants.
Independent retailers and small businesses need support now more than ever as many have had to close their doors, due to the national lockdown, in what would have been their busiest period in the run up to Christmas.
There are lots of ways people can still support their favourite shop from home:
- Find out if they are offering an online shop
- Find out if they are offering a click and collect service
- Ask friends and family for vouchers for Christmas for your favourite local shop, restaurant, bookshop or hotel
- Support local businesses on social media. Share; Like and Follow their posts and recommend them to others
- Shop early so you have time to find out what is on offer locally and what their deliveries times are
- Support independent businesses on the high street as much as possible
Cllr Richard Wearmouth, cabinet member for Business and Tourism at the council said: “Our local businesses need our support now more than ever. We know that spending even a small amount locally can have a hugely positive impact on the county’s economy.
“We have seen many examples of businesses responding to the current situation with innovation and resilience, but as residents of Northumberland we now need to do our bit to ensure our high streets and independent businesses can recover from this challenging time.
“I would encourage everyone to Shop Local, Shop Northumberland.”
Caribe Coffee based in Morpeth is one business which has had to respond quickly to enable them to continue to trade and meet the demands of their customers.
Run by husband-and-wife team Wilmer and Ellie Carcamo the business has now developed its online offer, set up a click and collect service, as well as offering free deliveries.
Ellie said: “Before Covid our main income came from local markets and that face-to-face selling. So, when that stopped we started looking at other ways of serving our customers. We had planned to develop our online offer at some point in 2020 but Covid meant that we had to do that much earlier and quicker than planned.
“We have a really loyal customer base who have supported us through this and have moved to buy online with us. It’s really important for people, if they are buying from local businesses, to spread the word as much as they can, tell your friends and family, share their posts on social media and continue to buy local rather than from the bigger retailers.”
Elsewhere a Facebook page has also been set up “Northumberland - Let’s support local businesses this Christmas” and in just a few weeks it already has more than 9k followers.
Chrissie Havis, also of Morpeth, set up the group as a way of bringing together shoppers and businesses. She said: “I wanted to create something to help promote the amazing businesses we have in Northumberland, who are having such a difficult time this year, but especially in the run up to Christmas.
"I can't believe how quickly it has taken off and I'm thrilled by the support people are showing businesses. I would encourage everyone, if they can, to support their local businesses and shop local this Christmas."