New online platform seeks to save Wolverhampton’s high streets
A new online local marketplace, which empowers shoppers to think global - shop local, has launched in Wolverhampton ahead of a nationwide rollout.
Swoope Local gives the city’s independent businesses a collective online marketplace as a means to offer same day deliveries or click and collect services for local shoppers.
Each business gets their own branded store page where they can showcase their products and services that they offer for free.
Consumers then get a convenient new way to shop online from local retail and hospitality businesses all in one place, with options to buy, book tables and order food from favourite restaurants, cafes and bars.
The Swoope infrastructure has been carefully designed to offer a one-stop shop to get local economies online in a scalable manner around the country.
According to Barclays, one in four eCommerce industry leaders believe that coronavirus has accelerated the “technical revolution” in retail, with online shopping up 28 per cent since before the pandemic and many high street stores closing as a result.
Coronavirus restrictions have seen online shopping continue to increase, which is bad news for small local businesses who can’t compete with the instant appeal of marketplaces such as Amazon.
Swoope Local aims to change that with a marketplace which gives local shoppers the opportunity to purchase from the comfort and safety of their own homes, while also supporting the small businesses and longstanding high street names under threat because of declining footfall.
Swoope Local says it will help local retailers to compete by making their products more accessible to shoppers and encouraging residents to spend their money locally for the good of the community.
Lee Nazari, chief executive of Swoope Local, said: “The impact that coronavirus has had on our already struggling high streets is devastating, and something has to change.
"The reality is that our local shops, bars, cafes and restaurants often can’t afford the huge commission charges of on demand apps, and many small local businesses simply don’t have the infrastructure or stock levels to sell on an international marketplace or go online with their own eCommerce solution, leaving them locked out of the digital economy.
“Our focus is on helping our local high street stores to get back on their feet. Getting them online is the first step to helping them survive”
To find out more about Swoope Local and help small businesses by shopping locally, visit www.swoopelocal.com
