Did you know that 68 cents of every dollar spent at a local business stays in the local community? Compare that to only 43 cents when you shop at a regional or national business or zero cents when you shop online. The Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce (GWCC) wants to encourage the West Chester community to purchase goods and services from the member businesses of the GWCC. In order to ensure patronage of local businesses from the community and visitors to the area, a mobile application was developed and launched on February 5. I spoke with Mark Yoder, President of the GWCC, who explained the features of the app and how businesses can get listed. Currently, 70 of the GWCC’s more than 650 business partners participating in the ThinkShopBuy…LOCAL program. Mr. Yoder expects that number to grow quickly as word of this new free feature for local member businesses spreads.
Mr. Yoder explained the “Three Ps” of ThinkShopBuy…LOCAL: Participate, Patronize and Promote. As a consumer you can Participate in this program by using the coupons in the app and shopping and buying from Chamber members. As a business you can reach out to the Chamber and create an offering so your business can be part of the movement. The GWCC hopes that consumers will Patronize Chamber member businesses by thinking LOCAL before buying elsewhere. Finally, they ask that you help them Promote the program to employees, within your business relationships, to your friends and to your family.
I downloaded this free app in the iTunes store on my mobile device. I simply had to search for “buy local GWCC” in the app store. After downloading and opening the mobile app, it is easy to search for local businesses that meet your needs. Current categories include Dining, Shopping, Personal Services, Professional Services, Attractions and Entertainment and Lodging. The businesses are then narrowed down by name, type and distance from your current location. After you find the business that you would like to patronize, a coupon for goods or services is available for your use. For example, if you want to order some pizza, a quick search uncovers Benny’s Pizza. Once you click on the link, the app takes you to a map where you can get directions to the location. If you click the blue arrow to the right of the name, it then takes you to a screen that will tell the consumer about the business, including address, phone number and website, and will present an offer to entice you to patronize the business. Currently, Benny’s is offering a free two-liter bottle of soda with the purchase of a pizza or stromboli to any customer that shows the app on their phone.
I put the app to good use over the weekend while shopping in downtown West Chester. My children all needed new running shoes and I noticed the ThinkShopBuy…LOCAL sign in the window of Chester County Running Store indicating that it was a participating business. I quickly located the store in this handy app and found out that just by showing the screen to the cashier, we would be entitled to 10% off of our purchase. You can’t beat that kind of discount for simply downloading the free app!
If you are a participating business in the GWCC and want to join in this free member perk, contact them at the Chamber office at (610) 696-4046 for details. If you are a local business and are not a current member of the GWCC, call their office to find out about membership.
If you are a resident of West Chester or someone who visits, download this free app by visiting The Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce’s website and use your mobile device to scan the QR code or download the app in the iTunes store.
Remember: Think, Shop and Buy Local in order to support the community in which we live!
