13 local traders have been listed on the site since it launched last month
PENARTH has launched its own mini-Amazon site, where residents can buy from some of their favourite Penarth shops and restaurants whose doors are closed due to lockdown.
Thirteen traders have signed up for ShopAppy, a website that allows independent shops and businesses to show products and services they have for sale in their town.
Customers can either click and collect from each shop or pick up all their shopping from one place. They can also pay extra for delivery. Penarth is the first town in Wales on the site.
Penarth Business Group chair and co-owner of Glass by Design, Angelina Hall started the project and is trying to encourage more traders to join. She said: “I thought ‘wouldn’t it be amazing if we had our own mini-Amazon in Penarth’. There are still people that love going to the shops, but there are other people who have totally changed their buying habits and I think, as traders, we have to realise that and be able to capitalise on it.
“It’s very exciting. It’s one of those things where you think, actually, this could be a game changer.
“All the shops can open their own e-commerce account on there and shoppers will be able to go on and put things in their basket, and can either choose to click and collect all these items from the different shops, click and collect from a central point or have it delivered to them for a small fee.”
Ms Hall says she has a bigger dream of an integrated site where traders can combine the stock on their own websites and the ShopAppy site.
“As soon as we get the integration with the bigger e-commerce sites that people are running, that’s going to be when this is a game changer, because then there will be a flood joining,” said Ms Hall.
The Vale of Glamorgan council is funding the traders to use the site for the first year. Ms Hall added: “It’s an opportunity to trial it for the year. If they decide it’s not for them, that’s fine but they’ve got a year to try for us to build this up as a town.”
Traders are excited for the opportunities the site offers for residents to shop locally.
Anne Morgan of Anne Morgan Jewellery, said: “I think anything local is fabulous, I have my own website and what I’ve found is the people using it are all local which is amazing. And if that’s happening, something like ShopAppy is going to be really good because it means if local people are finding local companies to deal with their needs, then that’s brilliant.
“Sometimes it’s not about shopping online it’s about awareness and promotion, so that when we are all back and people are able to come to the town, they’ll be able to go and visit the shops in the flesh as well.”
Others have concerns about the logistics of the site. Judy Mancuso, owner of organic spa and salon Ener-chi, said: “I’m happy to join in with others as long as they are as committed as I am to give that excellent service at the moment. Because to survive, that’s what I think we have to do.
“At the moment with my doors shut, online is all I’ve got. If I don’t think in the realms of 20-30 orders a day minimum then I don’t exist. If I can get one more order through joining that club and being part of it, and if I can help any of the other shops along the way then that’s brilliant. I think we should all be pulling together.”
Ms Hall claims 50 traders can be added to the site once the integrated system is available and looks forward to using ShopAppy in the future. She said: “During the first lockdown, we realised how supportive all the locals were, they really did try to come out and buy locally. When the first lockdown finished we were still getting lots of people coming in saying ‘we’re trying to still buy local’.”
