3 Gift Ideas to Market to Local Shoppers

This year, more consumers than ever before are prioritizing their holiday shopping at small local businesses instead of large online retailers.

To reach these consumers, it is important to understand where your business fits into their “purchasing map,” meaning where the consumers live and shop, as well as where their families and friends live and shop.

For example, a consumer may live in Western New York but have family and friends that live in states across the US. With inter-state travel being limited to prevent people from continuing to spread COVID-19, this consumer may be looking for creative ways to buy and ship their local purchases to the intended recipients.

Here are 3 gift ideas to market to local shoppers this holiday season.

“Local to me” gifts.

Send a postcard or other direct mail piece to consumers living within a designated radius around your store and encourage them to send “local to me” gifts.

For these consumers, talk about gifts that travel well, like non-perishable food, home décor, clothing, and any other items that they can buy and ship across the country to bring something local to them – a piece of their home – to their family or friend’s home.

“Local to Me” Postcard Example:

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“Local to you” gifts.

Leverage social media to share as much information about your different products, services, and sales offers as you can on your social media channels.

Be sure to share information on buying from out-of-state – local consumers that already love your brands can share this information to their own pages, and encourage their family and friends to purchase “local to you” gifts that support businesses that are local to the recipient.

“Local to You” Social Media Post Example:

Gift card purchases.

Whether they are “local to you” or “local to me,” gift cards are a great gift for local shoppers because they are easy to send in the mail or electronically. gift cards. In Western New York, small local and independent businesses are working together to incentivize people to shop locally with their 716 Gift Card program.