Glasgow shoppers urged to back local businesses on Black Friday

Shoppers across Glasgow are being urged to choose local this Black Friday and get behind businesses in their community.

The team behind the Scotland Loves Local campaign - which developed the £105 Glasgow gift cards - is calling on people across the region to think local first during the entire countdown to Christmas too.

Black Friday has become a key date in the festive shopping calendar, with major multi-national retailers offering often huge discounts on items.

Increasingly, however, local businesses have also adopted offers - making it a key part in the so-called Golden Quarter in the lead up to Christmas.

Scotland Loves Local is the campaign that urges people to think, choose and spend locally to help their communities recover from impacts of Covid-19 and to build a stronger, more sustainable future. It is spearheaded by Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP), with support from the Scottish Government.

STP Chief Officer Phil Prentice said: “Black Friday shouldn’t just be a pay day for the online giants. Local businesses need to benefit too. Whether in person or online, we would encourage everyone to think local first when shopping. It’s an investment in your community’s future.

“A successful Christmas can mean the difference between surviving or not for many businesses. That is truer than ever this year as - like everyone else - they work to manage the impact of rising costs with the after-effects of the pandemic.

“It’s critical for the future of local high streets that we get behind the people around us by supporting local businesses whenever we can, whether physically or virtually. ”

A way in which local people can show that support is by using the Scotland Loves Local Glasgow Gift Card. They can only be spent by local businesses registered to accept them. That makes them a direct way in which money can be used to support local jobs in shops, bars, restaurants and visitor attractions.