By Malin Jordan- The Cloverdale Reporter
The iShopCloverdale coupon app will soon be rebranded as iShopSurrey, thanks to a new grant.
The Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce received $20,000 last week from the B.C. Chamber of Commerce through Canada’s Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.
Scott Wheatley, executive director of the Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce, said the money will be used to help boost local businesses.
“We’ll be investing in Clayton, Cloverdale, and Campbell Heights, mostly Clayton and Cloverdale, because that’s where the retail is. A little in Campbell Heights,” explained Wheatley.
He said they’ll revamp the iShopSurrey app, making it available to all Chamber members. They’ll also promote it in print and online, including through social media, in an effort to raise awareness about the program. They’ll also produce a video that will highlight Clayton Heights.
Wheatley said there will be a twofold benefit to local businesses: they will be get wider exposure, hopefully drawing in more customers from further afield, and they will be able to highlight goods or services through the app that will also hopefully draw in more customers.
Once someone downloads the iShopSurrey app, they will have access to discounted goods and services for all Chamber members that participate in the free program.
“We’re going to create toolkits for all retailers,” said Wheatley. “We want to make sure they have all the tools they need to successfully use the app as best as possible and hopefully retain more business locally than lose it to Amazon.”
According to a post from LOCO BC in 2019, “Independent businesses recirculate up to $63 of every $100 in revenue in the local economy, compared to $14 for multinationals.”
The post also noted, “Independent businesses donate up to 24 times more per dollar of revenue to local charities than multinationals.”
The revamped iShopSurrey app should be live in early 2022 and will be available on both Android and iPhone.
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