Shoppers Chose The High Street

The festive period saw a sharp rise in shoppers who chose to use the high street and support local retailers. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Blackwood town centre in particular, had a successful pre-Christmas period as retailers welcomed a staggering 191,524 shoppers in the 5 weeks running up to Christmas, a marked increase, with an additional 24,000 shoppers compared to the same period in the previous year. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The annual ‘Choose the High Street’ Christmas voucher booklet was launched by the Town Centre Management Team in the spring bursting with more than 112 offers from local retailers. The aims of the scheme are to provide businesses with an opportunity to capture consumer spend during the Christmas period and also to market the diverse retail offer contained in the town centres. A total of 33,000 booklets were given in the towns in partnership with local supermarkets. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Residents embraced all that local towns across the county have to offer and demonstrated their support by shopping locally. Caerphilly and Ystrad Mynach also enjoyed a significant rise in footfall. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning & Sustainable Development, Cllr. Ken James, said, “We are committed to supporting traders and attracting more people to our towns. The Choose the High Street’ campaign focuses on raising awareness of consumer choice particularly during the pre-Christmas trading period which is crucial to businesses. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​