Free online platform for Derbyshire Artists and Makers to promote and sell work.
Derbyshire County Council, working with District and Borough partners, is supporting the roll out of new one-stop local shopping website across towns and villages in Derbyshire by offering 1 year free subscription to local businesses, including artists and makers. We understand how difficult it has been for so many artists and makers who have been unable to sell their work at markets and fairs, so are we’re really keen to encourage as many as possible to join and benefit from the no commission on sales platform.
ShopAppy.com is an award winning, shop local platform that enables customers to easily support their local shops and businesses and community organisations in one place with easy ways to browse, book and buy locally online with click and collect, home and postal deliveries.
Just like real places, our digital towns are also places where events, markets and activities take place. If events and activities are restricted, then Shopappy can help to make them happen online, and if people cannot attend actual events, they can support your events and activities virtually. By being part of the shop local platform this means you not only support your members, but also other local businesses by increasing digital traffic into your town which influences local footfall and spending.
Arts Trails, Arts & Craft Fairs, Open Galleries, Food and Drink markets, Museum Shop Sundays and so much more can all find a virtual home within ShopAppy.com towns - whether it's a permanent home to raise awareness of our organisation, sell tickets, memberships or merchandise or as a pop-up virtual event in your area. ShopAppy.com can complement other channels and provide more opportunities for your members to reach out to customers. It also provides another way for your own brand/event/organisation to access new customers and potential new members in your town. You can be on the site permanently, or you may choose to use the site for specific events and activities, such as a Virtual Makers Fair.
Virtual Makers Fair
See Saltaire for an example of how it can work - https://shopappy.com/saltaire/
Every member in your organisation can set up their own stall on the ShopAppy.com events area site. We encourage organisations to create a brand identity that overlays their profile pics so that they look different to the other businesses and are clearly aligned to your organisation.
Your members can list products or activities or export products from their own (or your online store) to add to their virtual shopfronts/ stalls on ShopAppy.com. There would be no charge to you or them for the use of the platform. Any sales would be subject to card transaction fees of 2% but no commissions. Each stall then gets their own link eg. https://shopappy.com/saltaire/jessica-grady-embroidery-artist/ which they can link to their social media.
As an event or group organiser you can also have your own shop for promoting upcoming events, selling tickets for future events, donating to your event or group or to buy merchandise for example. The branding of your event or group on profiles can clearly denote your members when people view the site. In addition for events - there is a virtual event category where all products can appear for a general browse. For events, we typically work with you 4-6 weeks before the event. This starts with a training session with as many of your stallholders/exhibitors/members as possible. This enables us to show them how the platform works and then after that, they can register and we hide them in our backstage area to get ready for the grand reveal.
The stall holders can pay you to appear on the site as it is your event which is providing the opportunity and your marketing and promotion that will support it, but ShopAppy.com does now make any charges to you or them. On your own website you could add the link to each individual stall holder to their ShopAppy.com business and also put a link to the virtual fair. And you can of course have your own stall holders and your own shopfront links to your own website or their own websites.
Shopappy are currently holding regular introductory webinars for Derbyshire businesses to find out more. If you’d like to book onto one or just want to find out more please contact Grace Newman at hello@shopappy.com