InStroud

Improving awareness of bricks-and-mortar businesses operating within Stroud Town

The "Stroud Is Open" Directory is now at VisitStroud.uk

Knowing who delivers, who offers click-and-collect, who can you shop online with whilst still supporting Local matters - not just in Stroud but across the Stroud District. The "Stroud Is Open" Directory has changed - it is now online, searchable, covers businesses beyond Stroud town and still gives you all this and more!
Links to business Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages, see who is open and when, and essential contact details are easy to access. With many businesses working on reduced hours during the Covid-19 Pandemic, we do our utmost to keep the Directory up to date with the latest opening hours.Where you shop matters and we hope this Directory helps you shop local and easier too.

Please don't keep this news to yourself - please tell everyone!



Raising awareness of business diversity in Stroud

The Directory is best viewed through Acrobat Reader (PDF Reader) but is also compatible with many popular web browsers.

InStroud is an initiative from Stroud Chamber of Trade to raise awareness of the diversity of businesses (retail and service providers) in Stroud. 

www.facebook.com/InStroud
www.instagram.com/instroud_official
www.twitter.com/in_stroud_glos 


The Stroud and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce 2018 survey carried a strong message to the Chamber - there is a need to raise awareness of businesses within Stroud and promote Stroud Town in general. The InStroud Facebook page is the first vehicle in a programme to do exactly that. Its aim is to promote, through regular posts, shops and businesses that want to showcase new goods or services; promote sales, offers and other promotions; share information about events for their customers and potential customers; and raise awareness of the wide range of products and services across the town. Further, the survey reported there is a need to bring more retail diversity into the town to make it more of an attractive destination.


Its goal is to increase footfall within Stroud and encourage visitors and shoppers into streets where they may otherwise not have gone - to discover some of the wealth of great retailers and service providers (many of which are independent traders) that Stroud has to offer.

Tony Davey, Chair of the Chamber, commented "The town is geographically bigger than many appreciate and we have some evidence that visitors to Stroud don't always know about some of our traders and the wide range of goods they sell.  As traders, we often hear (and read on Social Media) 'There is nowhere in town to buy ...', but often there is - you just need to know where.
The InStroud Facebook page is the first step in our programme to raise of awareness of the wide variety of retailers and businesses there are in Stroud, and I expect some of the brands (especially in fashion) that you can purchase in Stroud will surprise many.
Further, if we can prove that you really can buy so much more in Stroud, it will help reduce the number of people who feel they must travel further afield for the things they need - that can only be good for the environment, I believe, which will be good for us all."

In addition to promoting businesses, the page hopes to run some "just for fun" quizzes too - such as guessing what is in a picture and which shop (or shops) in Stroud you can purchase it.

To help businesses understand the types of posts that are great for the InStroud Facebook page, there is a helpful guide for business owners.

#LOCAL4LENT is a national campaign to encourage increased use of the High Street. With InStroud being focused on increasing footfall, it's a perfect match.
The message is simple - could you swap buying one or two items a week from an out-of-town retailer (such as a supermarket or online) for one in our town? If everyone did, it 'd make a huge difference to the local economy of Stroud.

It's a similar message to Stroud Fiver Fest, where we learned that if every adult in Stroud spent just £5 extra per week at an independent shop rather than online or at a big supermarket, it would add a massive £4.5million into our local economy. That's more local jobs, a stronger high street and a better place for us to live. #LOCAL4LENT doesn't prescribe an amount, but it's easy to see how swapping out an item or two per week could easily equal £5 or more.

#StroudLocal4Lent #LOCAL4LENT #InStroud