Yellow Pages Shop The NeighbourhoodYellow Pages Shop The Neighbourhood(TM) Campaign Generates $89 Million in Local Spending in Canada's Neighbourhoods.
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OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - March 31, 2015) - Over 750,000 Canadian consumers spent $89 million at local neighbourhood retailers during Yellow Pages' Shop The Neighbourhood event in 2014. The campaign, an initiative of Yellow Pages, a leading digital media and marketing solutions company, promotes support for small businesses by encouraging local shopping.
Held on November 29, 2014 - the Saturday between two of the largest shopping days of the year - Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Shop The Neighbourhood included the participation of 8,000 neighbourhood business, in over 200 neighbourhoods, with over 6,000 exclusive promotions by small businesses available on YP.ca, the YP mobile app and YP Shopwise mobile app.
"Supporting our local businesses is critically important all across Canada and I am thrilled to see that Shop The Neighbourhood garnered great support here in Ottawa," said Ottawa Mayor, Jim Watson. "These businesses are the backbone of our local economy and initiatives like Shop The Neighbourhood do a great job of encouraging residents to get out and visit them."
"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the key to strong communities. Events like Shop The Neighbourhood complement Ontario's vision of creating a dynamic, supportive environment where business thrives," said Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure.
Yellow Pages created Shop The Neighbourhood in 2013 to celebrate Canada's small businesses and main streets, and encourage Canadians to make local purchases in their neighbourhoods. The campaign integrated a free digital component in business registration as well as by offering participating businesses the opportunity to advertise a promotion at no charge on the Yellow Pages digital platforms. For many businesses, this marked among their first opportunities to experiment with digital marketing.
Yellow Pages in its daily operations helps Canadian small businesses break down the digital divide and connect with their customers online. According to a 2014 report by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, while Canadians are among the global leaders in online usage, less than half of small businesses in Canada have an online presence.
"Small businesses are crucial to the success of our economy. We created Shop The Neighbourhood to raise awareness of their important contribution to our neighbourhoods and encourage a change in consumer shopping habits that directs spending to the small businesses of our communities. It's a great reminder of the difference our dollars can make when spent locally," said François Ramsay, Vice-President, Corporate Affairs of Yellow Pages.
National results from a study(1) conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Yellow Pages indicate that:
- Over 750,000 Canadians responded to the company's call and shopped locally during Shop The Neighbourhood;
- An average of $119 was spent by each person who shopped locally during Shop The Neighbourhood, with 76% of that spend ($90) directed to local businesses who participated in Shop The Neighbourhood;
- More than $89 million was directed to neighbourhood economies, at a time of the year known for driving dollars across the border and to online chain retailers;
- Endorsed by businesses, consumers and business associations, 34% of Canadians were aware of the two-year old annual event;
- Of those aware, one in two people's shopping behaviour was directly influenced by the campaign's messaging to support the small businesses in their neighbourhood.
This year's Shop The Neighbourhood is confirmed for November 28, 2015, and it is once again FREE to all retailers that would like to participate. For more information, or to get your neighbourhood business or association involved, visit www.shoptheneighbourhood.ca.