Fishers utilizes technology to support shopping local

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By James Feichtner

Technology and supporting the local economy don’t always come hand in hand, but on Nov. 28 Fishers is incorporating both concepts in honor of Small Business Saturday. Back for its second year, the Fishers Shop Local event will take place on the same day as SBS and will feature dozens of local businesses offering great discounts.

“This year we’ve surpassed 35 (businesses),” Fishers marketing and public relations manager Casey Cawthon said. “They range anywhere from food and beverage to Gold Fish Swim School or martial arts companies or gyms around the community. There really is something for everyone whether you want to buy a gift you can wrap or you want to buy a gift that is a service they can use throughout the year.”

The technology aspect comes with the use of the Fishers Nickel Plate District app. Available for download on your smartphone, the app lists all the businesses involved, their social media pages, provides a map of the businesses and even gives shoppers the opportunity to enter into a contest to win a prize pack of gifts donated by all participating stores.

“There are two prize packs; a $50 and a $150 prize pack,” Cawthon said. “The $50 is to take a picture with your purchases and post it on social media. It’s as simple as using the hash tag #shopfishers. The other one is a little more complex. I’ve taken all 35 businesses and broken them down into three different categories. So everywhere you shop you’ll see the icon and a code word written by the register. At the end of the event (you’ll) enter the three code words, along with a fourth sent out through push notifications (through the app) the day of and enter into the app. The prize packs are really worth having.”

The app will also lists the discounts each business is having. Discounts vary by the business but some will include sales such as 20 percent off all in-store merchandise.

“There are different incentives like that so that people can get gifts for a great price and get the most bang for their buck,” Cawthon said. “The whole point is really to not only stimulate our local economy but support the small businesses in our community. Fishers has such a vibrant and entrepreneurial spirit that sometimes people forget that those business owners are entrepreneurs.”


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