Independent retailers came together last week at the OXO Tower in London to celebrate the ongoing success of the national online selling platform – Down Your High Street – alongside event organisers Network & Chill and partner The British Independent Retailers Association.
With workshop sessions from DYHS supporter Mark Hayes, stylist on ITV’s ‘Lorraine’, and a motivational talk from ‘The Apprentice’ winner Sian Gabbidon, the event’s aim was to inspire retailers, encourage networking and to get a deeper understanding of the platform, which now has 600 independent retailers trading on it.
Julie Holden, national membership manager at Bira, said: “Down Your High Street is an ideal platform for our members and we are proud to work in partnership with them to provide an opportunity for bricks and mortar retailers to embrace online sales in a simple and affordable way.
CONVENIENCE
“The fact that all traders on the platform must have a physical shop is very important to us. We want to support the high street while recognising the convenience factor for consumers and the need for retailers to respond to changes in the way people are shopping.”
Dan Whytock, CEO of Down Your High Street, said: “As the co-founder of Downyourhighstreet.com (and once upon a time a market trader), the relationship we have formed with Bira brings me great excitement as we are able to work with their 100-plus years of retail-supporting experience to make sure our independents are looked after and supported in the best way possible. In the current retail climate this is more important than ever before.
“Our relationship started with a common interest in driving awareness to the UK high street and we can proudly say that together we have now achieved that with our first joint success story.
NEW REVENUE
“Artichoke Boutique in Swaffham signed up to Down Your High Street through Bira and went on to sell hundreds of products and gained TV exposure from it, producing a brand new revenue stream to help keep their shop open on the high street.
“We look forward to a long-term relationship with Bira supporting retailers all over the country.”
Bira’s session at the event, delivered by Bira-approved service partner Maybe, a social media listening and engagement platform, focused on parking challenges, Brexit and business rates and looked at the differences in opinion on how these issues affect the high street between consumers and retailers.
This insight, together with Bira’s national campaigns in support of topics which are impacting trade on the high street, can help retailers to make more informed choices about their own social and digital media content to ultimately increase footfall and drive sales.
