Member Article

Fanfare for covid-secure North Yorkshire shopping

A new way to support local businesses without visiting in person - and at no extra cost - to shoppers or businesses - will launch in York, Malton, Stokesley and Richmond on Saturday 17 October.

Having ShopAppy.com in your town means you can support your local High Street from the comfort of your sofa. No need to queue with others in a mask. You can browse, book, buy, and get a convenient home delivery from independent shops and businesses in your area with one simple checkout.

ShopAppy.com provides a collective online shop window and ordering service for every member town and there are over 150 towns signed up across the UK already with many more joining every week.

In North Yorkshire alone, over 100 business have gained free use of the site for 12 months, thanks to the support of the York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub.

The platform is not just about shops. ShopAppy.com can help services, trades, B2B businesses, chefs, pop-ups, entertainers, and market stalls with bookings, click and collect, home delivery and can even host virtual events.

O So Eco is a small online shop based in Malton which sells environmentally friendly, sustainable and cruelty-free products. Mother and daughter owners, Alice and Becka Ingham say: “Although we operate nationally, up until now we have just used Royal Mail for deliveries as we didn’t want to increase road usage and pollution. ShopAppy is a great solution as it encourages our local customers to buy from us and collect products from one point. We are also really hoping that we’ll get to know more of our local clientele through this collaboration.”

Terry Brett, owner of the Pyramid Gallery in Stonegate, York says: “I’ve been the owner here for 26 years and there have been various challenges, such as recessions, the 2008 financial crash and the rise of internet competition. But nothing has been harsher than Covid 19. A website on its own is good, but not sufficient to make up for lower footfall at Christmas. That is where the novel local shopping website ShopAppy.com is going to help us. They will replicate the items that we put on our website but promote them to a loyal, local customer base. Thank you ShopAppy!”

Yorkshire-based founder of ShopAppy.com, Dr Jackie Mulligan, who is now a UK High Street Task Force Expert says: “ShopAppy.com is a great way to offer support and good cheer to your local town when your community most needs it.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kate Slater .