actually spend their money locally. In a way, Covid-19 turned on a light switch for many. It finally got the message across to people that local businesses are the backbone of our communities. That it’s these small businesses that sponsor your children’s sports teams, that donate their time and effort at fundraisers, that show up again and again expecting nothing in return except for you to support them before you support the big box chains.
How a Pandemic Taught the World the Importance of Shopping Local by Shannon Ferguson WHAT’S UP WITH FANSAVES?
It’s wild to think howmuch the world has changed in 2020. While a pandemic ravaged communities across the globe it was not only the virus that people feared. The economic downturn that coincided had many people, especially small business owners, just as scared about how they would survive the collapse and scrape through financially. Fortunately, what Covid-19 forced the general public to be more aware of is just how important small businesses are to the local ecosystem. It was the very pandemic that closed entire regions that ultimately helped open people’s minds, shedding light on how our neighbours who own the stores down the street were suffering through it all. While the pandemic grew so did the hope. With small business owners wondering how they would put food on their table knowing that their stores were forced to close, communities rallied
together to help. At FanSaves, we saw this first- hand with our FanSaves Helps Gift Certificate Program which we launched less than two weeks after the initial shutdown. With a quick pivot, we gave business owners a way to sell gift certifi - cates to the public on our hub, even if they had never sold gift certificates previously. We saw people purchase gift certificates in droves and we were able to help over 62 communities and 630 businesses sell tens of thousands of dollars worth of gift certificates. And it wasn’t just us. So many people and busi- nesses across the country stepped up to help each other. For a couple of months, we were united as onewith a common goal to help; helping however we could with the means and capacity we had available. Through it all, regular people began to take notice of how far their few dollars can go when it stays within their own communi- ty. Regular people who had always known about local businesses in town now felt the urgency to
The hope as we continue to rebuild on the other side of this pandemic is that these lessons we learned are not forgotten. That we remember how important the small businesses in our towns and cities are to the local economy and that we continue to throw ourselves as passionately into supporting them as much as we did during the darkest days of Covid. At FanSaves, we are committed to the Shop Local movement and our goal is to promote and drive traffic into as many local businesses across North America as possible. Through our coupon- ing app you can do more than save money, as we are dedicated to shining a light on businesses that are affiliated with community organizations such as sports teams, schools, BIAs, Chambers of Commerce, and local events and festivals. You can even support the businesses that support
Spotlight on Business magazine! As the world begins to reopen and we all work to navigate this new way of life, let’s remember our local businesspeople and let’s continue to lift them up. Our work supporting them is not done just because the economy is reopening and it’s now up to us to continue shopping local for the rest of this wild, rollercoaster of a year and beyond. Become a fan of Spotlight on Business and give them a follow on the FanSaves app or at www. fansaves.com/organizations/spotlightonbusi - ness.
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JUNE 2020 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • JUNE 2020
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