Bold new campaign encourages Shrewsbury shoppers to choose local over online giants
Shrewsbury BID will launch a new town-wide marketing campaign this Small Business Saturday, 6 December, calling on shoppers to pause, think twice and reconsider the online shopping autopilot.
The campaign, which will continue throughout Christmas and into early 2026, challenges the habit of defaulting to online mega-retailers and instead shines a spotlight on the value, care and community that come from shopping on the high street.
Shrewsbury’s independent businesses are one of the town’s greatest strengths, enabling a town centre mix that blends beloved independents with a strong national retail presence and a varied and exciting food & drink scene.
It’s part of the reason Shrewsbury has been recognised as Britain’s Best High Street (The Telegraph, Nov 2024), Britain’s Most Perfect Market Town (The Telegraph, 2025), one of the happiest places to live (The Guardian, 2025) and even one of the country’s coolest postcodes (The Sunday Times, 2024).
In Newmark’s 2025 Vitality Rankings Report, Shrewsbury was ranked first in the West Midlands for town centre vitality, and third nationally among large towns – in the overall rankings, it outperformed city centres including Birmingham Central, and towns like Leamington Spa, Stratford-Upon-Avon and Great Malvern to secure the top spot. Nationally, among large towns, only Kingston upon Thames and Harrogate placed higher.
The popularity and national recognition of the town’s Market Hall - three times voted Britain’s Favourite Market Hall - only reinforces that Shrewsbury’s character, quality and shopping experience are unlike anywhere else – and built on its independence.
Shrewsbury BID’s new campaign aims to highlight exactly that, and highlight the benefits of shopping local. The first wave of designs, to be displayed from Saturday the 6th throughout the festive period, features three short, striking messages: “Buy from people, not platforms,” “You work hard for your money - spend it with someone who cares,” and the playful “Add to basket (but in real life).”
The message will be displayed on eye-catching posters and vinyls around the town centre, in designs with a retro festive feel inspired by the 1950s and 60s - a time when doing your Christmas shopping in town, and spending your pounds locally, was the natural choice.
Many local businesses will display the campaign messages and shoppers who choose to buy in person will receive bright, cheerful stickers as a small thank-you for supporting the high street.
Seb Slater, Executive Director of Shrewsbury BID, said:
“Shrewsbury is incredibly fortunate to have a town centre that consistently outperforms the national picture. In 2024, 51% of customer spend in our town went to independent retailers - compared to a UK average of just 29% - and that’s something we can be proud of. But it doesn’t mean our businesses have it easy.
Every independent in Shrewsbury still faces the same yearly challenges competing with large online retailers as independents across the country. This campaign is about reminding people of the power they have to support the shops, makers and traders who give our town its identity.”
Julia Buckley, MP for Shrewsbury, added, “I am so proud to represent a town where the high street genuinely thrives against UK trends, and where independent businesses sit at the heart of our community. I visit towns around the country and what you see elsewhere is often a world away from what we’re lucky to have in Shrewsbury.
We cannot take that for granted - we must support what we have if we want to keep it. This campaign captures that message perfectly.”
Councillor Alex Wagner, Mayor of Shrewsbury, said:
“Shrewsbury’s shopping scene is completely unique. Streets like Wyle Cop are among the very best independent shopping streets in Britain, and the town has earned an extraordinary number of plaudits in the national press as a result.
The campaign will continue to evolve with further designs and messages rolling out in 2026, ensuring its message carries on well beyond the festive period. Its long-term aim is simple: to encourage people to spend with intention, reinvest in their community and rediscover the experience of real-life shopping in a town that thrives when its high street does.
