Description
GO Trade will aim to stop the economic decline of town centres by creating a unique brand of local markets. The new markets aim to attract over 327,000 new visitors to towns in the South of England and North of France, helping to provide a significant boost to local economies.
High streets, town centres and local market places in both France and the UK have suffered significantly from declining footfall, as shoppers choose to favour online shopping and cheaper foreign alternatives.
The GoTrade project will look to reverse this trend by combining local offers in a number of markets across France and the UK into a unique brand of markets, targeted at both local residents and tourist visitors. This brand will be known as ‘GoTrade’.
The project will trial the markets in several French and UK towns including Great Yarmouth, Basildon and Amiens.
The GoTrade brand will represent a mark of good quality and diverse local products sold by certified market traders. This certification will ensure market traders offer good customer service and use professional techniques when selling to customers.
The project will support traders by using modern methods of communication to market their products and by introducing digital technologies such as ‘click and collect’.
Certified traders will also be given 'GoTrade passports' that will enable them to travel and trade at any of the GoTrade markets in France and the UK.
As well as supporting local traders and attracting local customers, the GoTrade brand will aim to turn market places into a visitor experience for tourists, helping to attract more visitors to the Channel area and increasing their length of stay in market towns.