Shropshire Star

Dozens of Bridgnorth businesses benefit from app-based shopping scheme

An innovative app-based shopping scheme tried out in a Shropshire market town has been hailed a success.

Published

Bridgnorth became the first town in the county to benefit from the the ‘ShopAppy’ scheme, after Love Bridgnorth, a campaign which promotes the town and organises initiatives to boost footfall, secured funding for the project from Shropshire Council two years ago.

The scheme sees participating business placed on one website, enabling people to browse and search for products in Bridgnorth before physically visiting the town or shop - or they can order online.

Around 84 businesses in Bridgnorth have taken part in the scheme, which has been hailed a success by Love Bridgnorth.

Sally Themans of Love Bridgnorth said the ShopAppy scheme has opened up new markets for local traders, showcasing their products to a national audience as well as encouraging more people to shop locally.

“ShopAppy brings local traders and customers together and it has been incredibly successful, with 84 retailers promoting 2,432 products – way above comparable sites in the country,” she said.

"I want to thank both Shropshire Council and all of the businesses who got involved.

“The site received 44,642 page views and had 6,342 users and came up in 2,822 organic searches, meaning that people were looking at products and shops, most probably before deciding whether or not to visit, and retail experts estimate that that pre-visit online activity will have generated much needed footfall and sales.”