WHY SUPPORT LOCAL?
Afan Valley businesses are owned and operated by your neighbours!
Shopping in local stores, eating out and purchasing services within the Afan Valley and surrounding areas significantly improves the quality and culture of your community.
Local businesses invest in our community
Sole traders and independent stores are proportionally more generous in their support for local charities, carnivals, schools and community events. So supporting local shops means a financial return for our community.
Shopping local retains distinctiveness
Local independent shops create distinctive shopping experiences by keeping traditional products alive! They respond more quickly to the needs of local customers, stocking products to meet ever-changing requirements, and they can be more innovative (independent traders first developed organic products).
Shopping locally saves services
Private, voluntary and public sector services cluster around shops. The loss of the high street often corresponds to a reduction in these services. As shops disappear, so do the hairdressers, vets, dentists etc.
Shopping locally helps the environment
We are all aware of CO2 emissions and the impact they can have on our environmental. Local shops often stock a higher percentage of locally sourced goods for which distribution time and customer journey times are reduced. This helps reduce our global footprint overall.
Shopping locally retains our communities
Nobody likes losing businesses in small towns but these shops will only survive if customers spend locally - so, if you want a vibrant town centre, where people can socialise as well as shop, we need to encourage people to shop locally.
Shopping locally creates jobs
Shops in our town centres and villages create local employment and self-employment. These people, in turn, spend in the local economy. Evidence shows that for every £10 spent in an independent shop, £25 is generated for the local economy compared to £14 spent in multinationals.
Local shops are for everyone
Most people can get to their local shops with relative ease. This is especially important for the elderly, the vulnerable, young people and those without private transportation. Keeping local shops open with your support helps the whole community.
You are more valued
Evidence from numerous surveys indicate that people receive better customer care and service in local shops. Traders survive by their reputation and repeat business - so shopping locally means that you get a higher standard of service.