BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Introduced in the UK four years ago, Local Bike Shop Day has become an ever-growing highlight on the calendar. Here’s how you can get involved on Saturday, 30th April
This piece first appeared in the April edition of BikeBiz magazine – get your free subscription here
“Each year we have gone above and beyond to make sure we celebrate Local Bike Shop Day,” said Darren Hunt, group retail managing director at the Cycle King and Hawk Cycles family-owned chain.
“We feel it’s a great opportunity to showcase how special local independent retailers are. We, like many companies, have a large online presence but at the heart of what we do is serving our local community and loyal customers day in and day out.”
Since it was established in 2018, support for Local Bike Shop Day has continued to grow, as businesses from across the trade have joined forces to shout about the great work being done by cycle retailers.
Returning on Saturday 30th April, the 2022 Local Bike Shop Day, now managed by the Association of Cycle Traders (ACT), is set to be the biggest ever event – but why should your business get involved?
Why Local Bike Shop Day?
Hunt, from the Cycle King and Hawk Cycles chain with stores across London and the Midlands, added: “I would thoroughly recommend that everyone gets involved in Local Bike Shop Day if possible. The last couple of years have seen a huge uptake in cycling across the country, with commuters, families and leisure cyclists all benefiting from our friendly local service.
“We also know our customers enjoy supporting local businesses, helping improve the environment and advancing their own wellbeing. We cannot thank them enough for continuing to access some of the most knowledgeable colleagues in the industry – their local independent bike shop.”
His words were echoed by Steve from The Bicycle Hub in Cheltenham, who said: “As an independent business, people shopping local is key to our success. At The Bicycle Hub we love to showcase our passion and knowledge of bikes, while offering a personalised service to our local community. We joined the Local Bike Shop Day last year, as this event allows independent bike shops to be part of a big event to drive more footfall through bike shop doors.
“The event brought in some extra trade and enabled us to engage with our customers on social media, the local community got talking about the free offer that day. I would highly recommend other bike shops to get involved and celebrate the day, do an offer or an event. It brings customers through your door and encourages them to shop locally instead of the giant stores.”
Brand new for ‘22
The ACT has also introduced a new initiative for the 2022 edition of Local Bike Shop Day, a public vote for customers to choose their favourite retailer.
Customers will be able to show their appreciation for their local bike shop by voting for their chosen store on the Local Bike Shop Day website. Retailers will be in with a chance of winning £200 worth of vouchers for online marketplace Freewheel. To encourage voting, customers will also be entered into the draw to win their own £200 worth of vouchers.
The organisers of Local Bike Shop Day have also partnered with cycling advocacy campaign #BikeIsBest to help spread the word about the event on social media. Distributors and suppliers are also encouraged to show their support.
Local Bike Shop Day will also offer prizes for the bike shops that shout the loudest about the day on social media, thanks to a partnership with Cyclescheme.
How to sign up
Sign up now at localbikeshopday.com and download your free retailer pack which includes all the assets that you could need to support you in driving footfall through your door such as website banners, email banners, social media images, social media cover images and plenty of tips and advice.
Retailers on how they celebrate Local Bike Shop Day
Gary and Fiona Ewing, husband and wife, Inspiral Cycles in Bishop Auckland, County Durham:
“In preparation for Local Bike Shop Day, we planned our social media posts and shared posts from partners who were also promoting the day. As a result, one of our customers won a prize courtesy of Raleigh and we were blown away by some of the positive comments our customers posted online.
“It was great they were sharing their support for Inspiral Cycles as their LBS. Tagging #supportyourlocalbikeshop increased our online profile and led to new customers discovering our shop. Local Bike Shop Day is a positive for every LBS.”
Jacob Greenan, owner of Greenan Cycles:
“We ran 10% off everything for the day and posted several social media posts which had a great response, customers always love something that makes them smile. The day was great with plenty of customers, both new and old, coming in to have a look around. People wanting to get back into cycling, upgrade their bike, treat themselves to some accessories or book in for a repair.”
Steve, managing director, The Bicycle Hub:
“We wanted to promote this occasion by putting on a great offer! Only available on Local Bike Shop Day people could bring their bikes down to The Bicycle Hub and get a free bike check. This consisted of checking the bike over, seeing if the bike needed any work doing to it and giving advice on how to get it fixed.”
