Shoppers across Argyll and Bute are being urged to choose local this Black Friday and make it a bumper payday for businesses in their community.
The team behind the Scotland Loves Local campaign is urging everyone across the country to think local first during the entire countdown to Christmas rather than automatically turning to online retail giants.
The call to action comes as recognition grows across Scotland of the critical need to support local high streets.
Black Friday – which this year falls on November 24 – has become a key date in the festive shopping calendar, with major multi-national retailers offering often huge discounts on items.
Increasingly, however, local businesses have also adopted offers, making it a key part in the so-called ‘golden quarter’ during the lead-up to Christmas.
Scotland Loves Local is the campaign that urges people to think, choose and spend locally to build better futures for their community. It is spearheaded by Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP), with support from the Scottish Government.
Kimberley Guthrie, STP’s interim chief officer, said: “Our call is simple: Please don’t just turn to the online giants on Black Friday and throughout the festive shopping season.
“Argyll and Bute’s fantastic local businesses – which so often offer great buys which are special and unique – need to benefit too.
“The unfortunate reality is that a successful Christmas can mean the difference between surviving or not for many businesses.
“Whether in person or online, we would encourage everyone to think local first when shopping. It’s an investment in your community’s future.
“It’s critical for the future of local high streets and communities that we get behind the people around us by supporting local businesses whenever we can, whether physically or virtually.”
In polling commissioned by Scotland’s Towns Partnership earlier this year, 85 per cent of Scots surveyed agreed it was vital that people in their community support businesses on the local high street; 46 per cent strongly agreed with the statement, an increase of five per cent compared to 2021.
More than nine-in-10 (93 per cent) were concerned there is a strong chance that many local high street businesses will go under if people do not support them.
A way in which local people can show that support is by using the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card. These are available regionally across the country and can only be spent by local businesses registered to accept them.
That makes them a direct way in which money can be used to support local jobs in shops, bars, restaurants and visitor attractions.
Local businesses are also being urged to use the cards as staff rewards this Christmas.
Campbeltown-based Community Interest Company Keeping It Local is currently the only location in Argyll where the cards, which are available online and can be spent with more than 300 businesses in the region, can be purchased in-person.
Visit www.lovelocal.scot/giftcard for more information about the Scotland Loves Local Gift Card.