BUSINESS NEWS
‘ Safer Shops West ’ grants to help indies fight shoplifting epidemic
Metro Mayor Dan Norris is urging independent retail businesses to apply for the ‘ Safer Shops West ’ grant in the wake of a recent rise in shoplifting .
In-store thefts have reached record levels after soaring by more than a third in a year . For the first time since records started , there were more than 400,000 cases reported to police in England and Wales , according to the Office for National Statistics ( ONS ).
Mayor Norris described the sobering stats as “ no surprise ” as he once again urged the region ’ s stores to apply for grants from his Mayoral Combined Authority to help the West fight back .
‘ Safer Shops West ’ allows independent shops to receive £ 2,000 towards the costs of security measures such as CCTV , screens , body cams and hand-held radios .
Mayor Norris said , “ These figures will sadly be of surprise to no one – especially those shopworkers on the frontline of a shoplifting epidemic in the West of England , and across the country .
“ This level of out-of-control crime is unsustainable and risks some communities losing local stores .”
“ This level of out-of-control crime is unsustainable and risks some communities losing local stores . For the shops that stay open , they will be forced to put up prices to make up for the lost goods – making this frightening cost-of-living crisis even worse for all .
“ I urge shops to get in touch with my Mayoral Combined Authority , and join the crime fightback .”
The Mayor is campaigning for tougher action from ministers to tackle shoplifting and protect shopworkers – including restoring the number of Police Community Support Officers to 2010 levels and introducing a standalone offence of assaulting a shopworker .
Avon and Somerset saw a 41 % increase in shoplifting in 2023 .
To apply for the grants visit : www . westofengland-ca . gov . uk / information-forbusinesses / safershopswest /
Start-up aims to empower Bath ’ s independent businesses
Bath tech start-up xplore has launched a new discovery app dedicated to supporting independent retail , leisure and hospitality businesses .
xplore is a mobile platform dedicated to fostering a more connected and local world . The technology serves as a bridge between communities and businesses , providing a dedicated place to discover and connect with local eateries , pubs , cafés , shops and services .
The company , founded by former captain of England Rugby 7s Greg Barden , says it has ambitious plans to empower people and independent businesses to come together to create economically healthy cities , towns and neighbourhoods .
With the high street struggling with empty units and vacant retail centres , and other local businesses including pubs closing on a regular basis , Greg and the team at xplore believe there is an opportunity to use tech for good to help reverse this trend .
The xplore app provides a place for customers to discover and connect with independent businesses , and be rewarded with loyalty cashback . It also aims to help businesses reduce their running costs by offering 0 % transaction fee payment technology , removing the cost of payment card processing .
The British Retail Association Payments Survey reported that card purchases cost retailers just over £ 1 billion in processing fees in 2022 .
Independent businesses around Bath including Nook , Mjolk , Good Day Café , Cortado , Noya ’ s Kitchen , Larkhall Butchers , Scoop Wholefoods and Wolf Wine are amongst the businesses that have already taken their place on the xplore map and are enjoying the benefits of taking payments through xplorePay .
The Bath Community Gift Card , a digital gift card powered by xplore and launched in partnership with Bath BID , is also available via the app . Designed to help keep shoppers spend within the local community and to maintain Bath ’ s rich mix of independents and well-known retailers , the Bath Community Gift Card helps to keep local spend circulating within the community . According to the Federation of Small Businesses , for every £ 1 spent in independent businesses using a community gift card , around 63p is reinvested back into the local economy .
The company has ambitions plans for 2024 , with aims to expand across the South West this spring and nationally over the next 12 months .
For more info : www . xplorelocal . com
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