The Importance of the Local Marketplace
In today’s fast-paced online retail world, local marketplaces remain essential, not just for their economic impact, but for the way they enrich our communities. At Blackline, we believe in the power of local markets as vital engines for economic growth and support for small business owners. Here are just a few of the reasons why we love them so much!
Supporting Local Economies:
Shopping locally with small businesses keeps money within the community, creating a ripple effect that supports other local businesses. Local makers’ markets help artisans and entrepreneurs thrive. In fact, every £1 spent with a small business keeps 63p in the local economy, compared to 40p with larger businesses.
Empowering Small Business Owners:
Local markets offer small businesses a low-cost entry into retail, allowing them to test products, connect with customers, and build brand presence without the overhead of a traditional store. The face-to-face interactions at these markets are invaluable for gaining real-time feedback and building loyal customer bases.
Building Community Spirit:
Local markets create a rare sense of community, where people come together not just to shop, but to connect. This interaction creates a vibrant community spirit and encourages investment in the local area, making markets the heartbeat of thriving communities.
We caught up with four small business owners who regularly trade at Makers Market events in the North West to learn why not only these marketplaces are so important to them, but how they’ve had a positive impact on their business trajectory.
Ayesha at Happy Boxx
How has being part of a local marketplace impacted your business?
Being part of a local marketplace has really boosted our visibility and connected us with a local customer base that values positivity, unique thoughtful gifts and other small businesses to connect with.
It’s helped us grow by building relationships within the local community to be a trusted gift solution for all your last minute gifting needs and creating affordable letterbox gifts that will make your loved ones smile.
What role do you believe local marketplaces play in supporting the community?
Local marketplaces serve as a hub for community interaction, supporting small businesses and keeping money within the local economy. They help create a sense of belonging and encourage a network where small businesses can also support one another. Here at Happy Boxx this is really important to us and we actively include products from other small businesses in our letterbox gifts so that when a customer buys a Happy Boxx they are always supporting multiple small businesses in one purchase.
Why do you think customers value shopping at local marketplaces over larger retail chains?
Customers value the personal touch, unique products, and the sense of community they experience at local marketplaces. They appreciate knowing where their products come from and supporting businesses that contribute to the local economy. Shopping with small businesses also gives customers that ‘feel good factor’ knowing their purchase has helped someone else’s income, family and business.
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Tim at Secret Industries
How has being part of a local marketplace impacted your business?
For me it’s become one of the cornerstones of my small business. It has helped me reach an audience and customer base outside of the circle of people that I know. It has helped me test new products, meet customers face to face and helped me learn more about who my ideal customers actually are. It’s also a great little support network – you get to meet other business owners and make genuine connections and friendships, without the icky label of ‘networking’.
All of this in turn has brought various commissions, project work and business opportunities that perhaps would never have come along otherwise. Finally, and perhaps most importantly for me – our local marketplace has helped me take my business from a small idea that I worked on in my spare time to something that is now my full time job!
What role do you believe local marketplaces play in supporting the community?
It helps support genuine small, independent traders, enabling them to get a head start and build a sustainable business. It connects local customers with local businesses in a way that the average high street no longer seems able to achieve. It brings people into the town and city centres – yes they visit the market, but they will hopefully also use other local businesses, all of which stimulates the local economy. If a marketplace is well organised, run efficiently and is well supported, I think it also helps build a sense of local pride, and even a sense of belonging and community for both customers and businesses
Why do you think customers value shopping at local marketplaces over larger retail chains?
I think it offers so much of what a customer wants from a shopping experience that large retail chains simply cannot offer. Customers are weird in the best way – they want a unique and personal shopping experience, but they also want ease and convenience. A local marketplace lets you shop for unique, handmade and sustainable items from small, independent businesses. Customers can shop more consciously as a marketplace lets you directly meet the person who has made or sourced the items, and actually speak to them and ask questions. You also have the feel-good factor; customers see exactly where their money goes. It’s not going to some huge, faceless company that earns millions each year, it goes directly to supporting a small, local business. Plus you can shop for gifts, household items and tasty treats, all with the ease of heading to one place!
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Dani at DD Practical Leathercraft
How has being part of a local marketplace impacted your business?
It’s really hard as a small business to have an in-person presence anywhere at the minute. Being able to trade locally has allowed me to build up a customer base of returning customers which you don’t always get when you trade elsewhere. I am able to spend time with customers and can work with them to design and make exactly what they want.
What role do you believe local marketplaces play in supporting the community?
Every time someone spends money with me locally, I then spend that money locally myself, ensuring that money stays in our local area and helps to boost the local economy. If we can keep money in our local area, we can help support the local community.
Why do you think customers value shopping at local marketplaces over larger retail chains?
Know, like, trust. When trading locally, customers can get to know you and the ins and outs of your business. They know exactly what to expect from you and can build up trust in your company. They get to deal with you personally and don’t have to jump through hoops for assistance.
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Cindy at Cinderbake Kitchen
How has being part of a local marketplace impacted your business?
Being part of a local marketplace has had a huge effect on our business. It has helped us get our name and product out there and I’m not sure I would have had the confidence to open a shop if it wasn’t for building up the business by attending markets! It’s also opened up connections with other traders which in turn has led to more business and collaborations.
What role do you believe local marketplaces play in supporting the community?
They are hugely valuable. Local markets allow people to come together to create a buzz in the community, and introduces them to smaller businesses that they may otherwise not know existed. Good markets can attract people from outside the area as well as bring out the locals.
Why do you think customers value shopping at local marketplaces over larger retail chains?
Markets offer a more personal touch and people can get to meet the person responsible for making that product and learn more about it, something you just cant get in a supermarket. You are getting a hand made product, made with love and skill, rather than a mass produced item. There’s also more opportunity to buy things you cant get anywhere else.
