Cardiff Indie Collective and Business in the City are joining forces to give you a Christmas market experience in support of local businesses. All from the comfort of your own home
With national restrictions in place and Christmas fast approaching, local businesses need support more than ever. With this in mind, two Cardiff organisations are joining forces in a virtual event to spotlight local businesses ahead of the festive period.
Online independent business directory Cardiff Indie Collective, and Cardiff based business news site Business in the City are to host a virtual Christmas market taking place on 19 November via Facebook. The event will give local businesses a platform to market themselves; something which Collective founder Rhian Pitt said had not been so easy due to Covid-19.
“Christmas is a really important time of year for small businesses,” she adds, “with the hit they have taken this year, it felt even more important to give them a platform.”
What to expect
With over 40 businesses confirmed, shoppers will be able to browse and buy from the virtual stalls. These include booksellers, homeware, jewellery and much more; all from the comfort of their home.
The free Facebook event will run from 7 to 9.30pm, featuring posts and images on what each stall has on offer. Some stallholders will have a slot to go ‘live’, informing viewers about their products.
To make the night a real Christmas Market experience, local eateries are on-board to deliver pre-ordered pizza, burgers, mulled wine, wine and snacks boxes.
Hannah Corns, whose hand-crafted, streetwear brand HUMANOS will be featured, explained how economically vital these virtual events are in raising awareness for local businesses.
She says, “It is very hard to be spotted amongst the many other businesses worldwide who tend to have larger budgets.”
I will watch your Market online and ‘window shop’ just to feel united with those of you in Cardiff.
Bringing the community together
Local businesses are what differentiate one city to the next.
“They are part of its identity,” says Rhian, “They form the community,” which, after having to adapt to a more virtual world, has been missed by many because of Covid-19.
She explained the virtual element not only brings the local community together in support of independent businesses, but gives customers a chance to attend the Cardiff market from anywhere in the world.
One American viewer commented, “I will watch your Market online and ‘window shop’ just to feel united with those of you in Cardiff.”
Rise in online shopping for Christmas
The rise in virtual, online spending has meant that Royal Mail is hiring 13,000 more temporary workers over the Christmas period. This comes as retail analysts believe more than 50% of Christmas shopping will be completed online.