On Saturday, June 7th 2014 Cash mobs Suffolk – a new community initiative to stimulate our flagging High Streets – is coming to Eye.
The economy is still weak across the UK and businesses large and small are facing hard times. Local struggling shops get our sympathy and sadness as they move out of our town centre. Chain stores and multinationals move into our local area and take business away from the local economy. We complain on social media and decry the decline to our friends. But what do we actually DO about it?
Well there is an initiative that is building in the UK which aims to change this decline. It is known as a Cash Mob. Cash mobs encourage the community to spend their cash, in a local shop. Cash mobs do not expect you to spend even more of your hard earned cash. Rather the initiative asks that you divert some of your money away from the multi nationals and spend it locally instead.
So how does a cash mob work?
It is a simple concept. Shop locally. Buy from local shops to keep the local economy alive. Cash mobs aim is not just about bringing the community together but also about supporting Suffolk’s independent shops and boosting the local economy. Anyone can join in
Every month in a town across Suffolk a local shop in the town is nominated by sending a message on the Facebook page http://facebook.com/CashMobSuffolk. The shop to be cash mobbed is announced on the 21st of the month. The plan is to spend £10 or thereabouts in the local shop chosen on cash mob day.
Before cash mob day, the local community then uses the combined networks of its members to spread the word about the local shop that is to be cash mobbed. On cash mob day, the chosen local shop gets a sales boost with cash that would have otherwise gone to a multinational chain of stores. The local community, visiting the chosen shop gets a chance to meet other like-minded members of the community.
It’s a concept that has been highly successful in America and has been set up in Suffolk by two local business women, Sue Hall and Eileen Brown, and they are running it on an entirely voluntary basis.

Their message, to spend £10 or more at the nominated shop in Felixstowe, is being spread through social media and community magazines such as this with up to date information on the Cashmob Facebook page at http://facebook.com/CashMobSuffolk

Other UK towns – including Ipswich, Hadleigh, Sudbury and Framlingham have had Cash mob events in the past, but Sue and Eileen are planning to take this right across Suffolk visiting different towns across the country on a monthly basis.

Eye and Clare have been selected for June 7th and March 5th respectively but there are plans to go to Lowestoft and West Suffolk later in the year. In time we would like to introduce this initiative across Norfolk and Essex too.

Retailers selected for the Cash mob, obviously get a one-off boost on Cash mob day. In the US the initiative has been found to have a positive long term spin-off for other local businesses too as consumers visit other local shops in the town.

So please nominate a local Felixstowe business on the Facebook page at http://facebook.com/CashMobSuffolk look out for the nominated business and spend that tenner in the shop on Saturday June 7th 2014.

Happy Cash mobbing!