Digitas and Saatchi & Saatchi Formalise Partnership with ShopAppy

ShopAppy, the ecommerce platform that enables small businesses to showcase and sell products and services online, is extending its relationship with Publicis Groupe UK, following the appointment of Digitas to work on upgrading its platform, digital design and user experience. 

The move follows the recent appointment of Saatchi & Saatchi to reimagine its brand strategy and creative brand identity, which will be fully implemented on the site in the coming months. 

ShopAppy has seen a 250% increase in local businesses signing up to the platform since lockdown and the spread of Covid-19 began. The service allows shoppers to browse the products of businesses close by, choose local and book home deliveries. 

ShopAppy, supported by Visa, enables local shops and businesses to show information, products and services they have for sale in a shopper’s nearby area, all in one place. 

It aims to encourage locals and visitors to use the shops and businesses near them, but it also brings retailers’ products together into categories that users can search and browse through online if they prefer. For digital transactions, customers can choose to collect from each shop purchased from, pick up all of their shopping from one place, or get a convenient home delivery.  

In April, ShopAppy launched a new home delivery service and began offering free registration for a limited period to help local businesses and consumers stay connected. It now has many more businesses registering across 150 towns and cities in the UK.

Visa is championing small businesses through its ongoing ‘Where You Shop Matters’ campaign, which encourages people to shop locally utilising services and tools, including ShopAppy.

Jackie Mulligan, founder of ShopAppy said: “The past few months have been devastating for local businesses and Britain’s high streets. But we’ve had record numbers of both new sign-ups by local businesses wanting to use the site and shoppers wanting to shop local.

“The focus now is on upgrading our platform to handle the increase in traffic and optimising user experience so we are best-positioned to support local businesses and towns and cities to recover faster and trade through the crisis. We are doing all we can to help with an ever-improving technological solution to better support all kinds of businesses to meet the needs of their current and new customers - many of whom are discovering local businesses as a result of the crisis.”

Claire Cootes, Digitas managing director, said: “Through our Publicis Groupe Power of One model for Visa, we were able to identify how we might help Visa’s partner businesses. As a result we were introduced to ShopAppy, who are providing a crucial online service for local businesses and shops in extremely challenging times, by allowing them to connect with their local communities. 

“Following the platform’s incredible growth over the last few months, we're looking forward to joining forces with Saatchi & Saatchi to help ShopAppy deliver even more for small businesses and people who want to shop locally.”