Local Bike Shop Day participation predicted to double in 2020

The ACT and Cyclescheme have joined forces to make Local Bike Shop Day 2020 “the biggest yet”.

Local Bike Shop Day celebrates independent cycle shops across the UK and is designed to appeal to all cyclists – new and dedicated enthusiasts – with the aim of increasing web traffic and driving more footfall through the doors of IBDs up and down the country.

Last year’s celebration saw over 150 local bike shops participate, a growth of 72% from the inaugural year. During the day, the hashtag #supportyourlocalbikeshop had a reach of over 75,000 via social media. With Cyclescheme on board, as well as other key cycling organisations, suppliers and media partners, the ACT has predicted that the number of shops taking part will increase to over 350.

Better Health Bikes, East London, which took part in Local Bike Shop Day 2019 had the “busiest day ever with the highest turnover and many new customers”. It went on to say: “Local independent bike shops have little voice within national and local news outlets, so this is helping to give IBDs a voice and stay front of mind.”

How is Cyclescheme supporting Local Bike Shop Day?
With an existing network of 1,750 IBDs, Cyclescheme, part of Blackhawk Network, will be providing local bike shops with the following incentives to get involved:

– Providing six IBDs with up to £150 in vouchers to take their staff out. The vouchers will be awarded to those IBDs who have been the most active on social media in the build-up to Local Bike Shop Day and holding in-store events on the day

– Providing a range of Local Bike Shop Day point of sale materials for use in-store, including posters, flyers and window stickers – all free of charge

– On Local Bike Shop Day, four lucky customers who request or redeem a Cyclescheme certificate in a participating shop will be awarded a £250 cycling gift card

– Spreading the Local Bike Shop Day word through their consumer-facing digital channels which has a reach of c. 30,000 followers

More details on how each initiative will operate will be published on the Local Bike Shop Day website, emails and social media.

“Cyclescheme was born in an independent bike shop, so this awareness day is close to our hearts,” said Neil McGuigan, senior manager, channel sales at Cyclescheme. “As the UK’s largest cycle to work provider, over 75% of our sales come from the high street, and the independent bike dealer plays a big part in supporting and spreading the positive word of Cyclescheme.”

Jonathan Harrison, marketing director at the ACT, added: “We’ve been working hard over the past few years to elevate Local Bike Shop Day to make it an integral part of the cycling calendar for both the trade and consumers. We’re thrilled to be working alongside Cyclescheme who have created some excellent initiatives to raise the profile of Local Bike Shop Day and of course the IBD on the 2nd May 2020.”

Sign up here.