CategoryShop locally

If you run a local retail business and have put a shop local post on social media or a sign in your window, take a moment to think about the decisions you have made in your business that lean into the shop local narrative for your business.

Do you by local every time you can?

Take POS software, is your software locally made, locally supported, benefiting the local community.

In the POS software space we have plenty of businesses owned by overseas companies, selling software that is developed overseas and software that is supported overseas. Very little of every dollar you spend with them stays locally. here at Tower Systems, most of what we are paid stays locally, supporting the local community, for which we are grateful.

In the relates EFTPOS payments space, there are local banks and providers and there are international businesses. Given the similarity in fees, choosing the local company would appear to make sense to businesses that themselves call on others to shoot local.

Now, if there is software locally made and locally supported that fist your business needs and is similar in price, why not consider the, local alternative and, when you do, tell people that you are grateful to be able to shop local for your own business.

This is one way to pitch shop local practically in your local business: shop local for yourself and gracefully share stories about this on your social media pages. Without telling customers to shop local you are leading in the conversation by doing it yourself.

Any business publicly encouraging others to shop local has an obligation themselves for each decision to make to first consider the local options. Your actions in business speak to the narrative of your business. You actions on shopping locally will show whether you are true to your word.

There is so much more to a call to shop local than the words themselves. It is vital we understand this and that we live it through the decisions we make in our businesses if we plan to tell others to shop local.

Shop local is a solid message if we walk the walk.

Owning and running a local shop is often more of a calling than a pure business decision, for local shops play active and vital roles in supporting local communities.

This is what happens when the owner of a business lives among those they serve. They want the local community to thrive because they live and feel the joy of a thriving community.

No big business can compete with this personal local connection, no matter how much they advertise or promote local support. Nothing beats living alongside those your own business serves.=

It’s this connectedness of local retailers to their local community that inspires us to make software that is genuinely useful in helping local retailers to serve, and to thrive themselves.

We are grateful to only make software for local independent retailers. As locals ourselves, we understand the role our software can play.

Local retailers often pitch for local shoppers with emotive language on social media and noticeboards out the front of the shop and while these pitches can help the local retailers feel like they are pitching shop local, we think they are noise in an already noisy space.

The best way for a local retailer to pitch shop local to local shoppers is by showing, rather than telling.

Here are 7 ways local small business retailers can use POS software to pitch local by showing rather than telling.

1. Share local knowledge. If you sell products that can be used locally, in local conditions, share relevant information as to appropriate local usage on your receipts. Garden centres, fishing shops, camping businesses, produce / farm supply businesses and more are ideal for the sharing on this local knowledge. Big businesses are not structured to do this like you can.
2. Share local knowledge II. Share information about local places where what you sell can be used. share your local knowledge, insider tips, to add value.
3. Support local community groups. use your POS software to serve members of local community groups and clubs. Offer the members a deal and an opportunity to fundraise for their club or group. This pay it forward approach offers a level of local support that big businesses will struggle to match.
4. Highlight local products. Use your POS software to note what you have in store that is locally sourced. Shine a light on local products so your shoppers can support local more.
5. Offer local value. Use your POS software to offer loyalty rewards to regular shoppers. These are more likely to be the local shoppers who provide the best value for the business.
6. Communicate locally. Harvest local shopper details from your POS software and email local specific offers to local shoppers. reward their locality.
7. Be locally relevant. Use your shop as a hub, a knowledge base on local, be known for this and your service of the local community and local places of interest.

We have cultivated this list by being local retailers ourselves, through own own doing, for decades in the gift, homewares and related retail channels. By showing shoppers the value of shopping locally we win more local business for sure. yes, we use our POS software every day in shops we own and run.

Tower Systems is not your average POS softer company.

Local retailers were quick to respond to the Covid pandemic and the needs of the local community who could not go far from home.

In our work with thousands of local retailers we saw many pivot, or adjust, to the new situations brought through Covid. It was wonderful seeing local small business retailers respond, and to see their customers respond, too.

March 2020 heralded in a new era of shop local, in part because we all had to. Today, early in 2023, many local retailers are benefiting, and continues using to lean more into serving local shopper needs.

2023 can be a year of shopping locally. The community benefits. The planet, too, benefits.

We know form our work with a variety of local retail businesses that there is a diverse mix of products available, many of which have been locally sourced, from gifts to homewares to food. These local businesses have brought to town more products and services than ever. It is a joy to be part of what is helping local retailers service their local communities in this way.

We all have a part to play to make 2023 a wonderful year for the local community.

So, what can you do to support local businesses in 2023? Here are a few simple steps:

1. Shop at local stores and markets. Make a conscious effort to shop at locally-owned businesses rather than online or chain stores. This includes everything from groceries and clothing to home goods and gifts.
2. Buy local products. Ask where it’s made. Preference locally made products. Your query can encourage local retailers to stock more local.
3. Use local services. This can include everything from getting your hair done at a local salon to hiring a local plumber or electrician.
4. Share the love. Tell your friends and family about the great local businesses you’ve discovered and encourage them to shop local as well. You can also leave reviews online or share your experiences on social media to help spread the word.
5. And, like. Each time you like a social media post by a local business, it is cheer for them and the more they feel those cheers the more able they are to help your local community.

Part of our role here at Tower Systems is to provide local retailers with tools on which they can rely to serve local shoppers. We only serve local specialty retailers. And while we for sure benefit when you shop local, you benefit too in many ways.

Join us in making 2023 a strong shop local year, for your community.

Here at Tower Systems we make POS software local retailers, specialty retailers, local shops that serve the local community. To us, local is Australia and New Zealand. We are grateful to serve over 3,000 local small business retailers with our POS software across both countries.

And, local community is key … and here’s why …

Shopping local matters to the local community for a number of reasons, some obvious, some not so obvious.

Every dollar you spend locally helps to stimulate the local economy. This is especially true if you shop at locally owned businesses.

When you shop at a locally owned and operated business, the money you spend tends to stay within the community, rather than making its way to corporate offices elsewhere.

Your dollars spent locally are supporting local jobs, local suppliers, and local tax revenues, local infrastructure. This can have a ripple effect throughout the community, as the increased economic activity can lead to more opportunities for businesses to thrive, which in turn can lead to more jobs and further economic growth.

Shopping local also helps to preserve the unique character and culture of a community. Local businesses are often an integral part of the fabric of a community, and they can help to define its personality and sense of place. When you support local businesses, you are helping to keep these cultural touchstones alive and ensure that the community retains its distinct character.

In addition, shopping local can be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Local businesses tend to have smaller carbon footprints and are often more committed to using environmentally friendly practices. By supporting these businesses, you can help to reduce your own carbon footprint and contribute to a more sustainable local economy.

Finally, shopping local can simply be more convenient and enjoyable. Local businesses often offer a level of personal service and attention to detail that can be difficult to find at larger chain stores. Plus, shopping at a local store can be a more engaging and enjoyable experience, as you have the opportunity to interact with the owners and employees and learn about the unique products and services that they offer.

Local is community. Yes, we get that reads as a cliche. It;’s true, tho. Local is community. Thriving local shops are able to help the community thrive and in a local thriving community, you thrive.

It its the circular nature of the local community that benefits all in it and all who rely on it.

The Tower Systems team is grateful to serve local retailers.

Have an awesome 2023. May you and your local community thrive!