FSP Retail Blog

Local Silver Lines the Economic Cloud

The Credit Crunch (despised phrase that it already is) could be the very black cloud that gives our town centres a silver lining. In best management speak, town and shopping centre managers should not see the dearth of available spend as a threat, but rather an opportunity to do something new. At FSP, we have previously bemoaned the cloning of our towns, with one being interchangeable with the next as the conglomerates take over and the small businesses are squeezed out. Now it seems these same small businesses, with their attention to detail and strength of customer service, are experiencing a renaissance, as more and more people find the benefit in shopping locally.

Shop Local (a phrase not nearly as annoying as Credit Crunch) is being pushed by many local councils and regional newspapers, from West Somerset to Suffolk and Hampshire to Huddersfield. Encouraging local people to keep their trade local has been pushed even further in Totnes and Lewes with the introduction of local currency accepted in local stores.

And now we hear that Berwick-upon-Tweed, where the average salary is not much more than half the national figure, is bucking the national downward trend. Local shops are finding turnover is increasing and customers are returning for more. The secret seems to be a smile, some attention, value for money and good old-fashioned values with a personal service. Advertising is not required as word-of-mouth does the trick.

As ever, it is the retailers and centre managers who know their customers, who will survive in these straitened times, and the local businesses look best placed to do that.

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