COVID-19 lockdowns, droughts, floods and then the chain-store driven Black Friday and Cyber Monday online blitz have made the going tough for small, independent businesses but with the help of Orange City Council, they are fighting back.
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Orange City Council has partnered with Business Orange, formerly Orange Business Chamber, and the Central Western Daily, to offer central west shoppers the chance to share $50,000, simply by shopping in the Orange region in the lead-up to Christmas.
It's called the 'Shop Your Way to $50K' retail activation campaign and Cint Boutique's Sarah Waddell is one of the business that's on board.
"It is just a great incentive to shop locally in the lead-up to Christmas," Ms Waddell said.
Ms Waddell, who sells seasonal fashion in her Sale Street boutique, said the leadup to Christmas has so far been slower than usual.
"For me as a retailer it has been quieter from past years mainly because of the weather," Ms Waddell said. "I need some nice warm summer weather."
Ms Waddell said battling United States campaigns like Black Friday, which traditionally marks the start of the Christmas shopping season in the US, is also tough with small retail shops like Cint not having the same margins as major chains.
"More so now than ever people need to support small business because last year has been so hard," she said.
Orange Mayor Reg Kidd said this was one way customers could help local businesses recover from COVID-19 lockdowns.
"Many Orange businesses have been through a lot over the past two years and the Christmas season is by far the busiest time of the year, which is the perfect time to give our local economy a much-needed boost," he said.
"We want to encourage shoppers to get out into the Orange region when they do their shopping, supporting local people and local employment and encourage their friends and family to do the same.
"Every time we spend money in a local shop it finds its way to local people.The chance to win a cash prize might just be the motivation people need to stay offline and in town this Christmas."
To enter the draw, all shoppers need to do is spend $25 or more in one transaction at a participating store, scan the QR code and submit their details, or fill in an entry form and drop it into the box at the Customer Service counter at Orange Civic Centre.
Starting this week, HitFM and TripleM radio stations will each host a daily $1000 draw every weekday for three weeks. On the final day, Friday December 17, two people will win a major prize of $10,000 each.
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