Independent retailers are being urged to get behind the National Walk & Shop Day 2010 on 2 September and put on ‘green’ activities in their stores.
The event, which is part of the on-going My Shop is Your Shop (MSYS) campaign run by the Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD), looks to persuade shoppers of the health benefits of walking to their local shops, instead of driving to out-of-town supermarkets.
Suggestion by MSYS for National Walk & Shop Day include not giving away plastic carrier bags for a day to promote the environment and offering free ‘bags-for-life’, while rural retailers could host a nature trail to “get customers walking”.
MSYS is providing a poster that retailers can download from www.myshopisyourshop.co.uk for retailers to display in-store. The posters can also tell customers by how much they have reduced their carbon emissions by walking, rather than driving, to their local independent retailer.
Last year, retailer Lesley Brown, of Frankmarsh Stores, Barnstaple, Devon, handed out free re-usable shopping bags to customers and held a competition for the most unusual footwear worn by shoppers.
She said: “The posters are a great way of promoting the cause. We used them last year in our shop to tell customers how easily they can reduce their carbon footprint.”
National Walk & Shop Day is part of the MSYS campaign launched six years ago to promote the value of local shops and activities include National Independents’ Week and National Cuppa Day, both held earlier in the summer.
