Why We R Local?

Have you ever visited a little deli off the beaten track or visited a market in a town, miles from where you live, and you found some really great locally made South African products?  It reminds me of my recent visit to Cape Town where we spent a delightful morning at the Oranjezicht City Farm Market which is located in Granger’s Bay within the V&A Waterfront precinct.  Not only is the food amazing, so make sure you go hungry, but the locally made products are wonderfully made and of exceptional quality.  So, you shop till you drop, buying all the local jams, sauces and condiments, a few tees, a sweater and maybe a candle or two.  You then head home and a few months later, you need restocking of that sweet sticky jam or need a birthday gift for your friend, who hasn’t stopped commenting on the tee that you bought at the market. So, now you need to get those products pronto, but you won’t be visiting Cape Town any time soon, and the most convenient way to repurchase these fantastic products would be via online shopping.

And this is one of the reasons why We R Local, a local online shopping site, was born. On one hand, some of these smaller businesses that sell at markets, through deli’s and perhaps on Facebook groups, don’t have an online shop of their own.  The size of their business doesn’t allow a budget to run an ecommerce store, but yet their products should be available online as they are great quality and people would like to have access to these proudly South African products and brands regularly, and not just at the Saturday and Sunday market.  Here is where We R Local can help these smaller businesses get an online presence by not having the expense and admin of running their own ecommerce store, and at the same time allow shoppers to buy local online more frequently and conveniently. Small businesses can sign up as vendors, pay a nominal monthly subscription and have a complete store within a locals’ only marketplace, opening up online sales nationally.

On the flip side, a lot of these local brands may have their own website, but are not well known out of their region.  Which again, I found when walking through the stalls at Oranjezicht. There were some great well established small businesses at the market and they have an online store, but they are not well known outside of the Cape Town area. We R Local can assist these local brands get exposure on a national level, either through selling on our marketplace as an additional sales channel, or list in our local directory where shoppers will be exposed to locally listed brands and can then link through to the relevant brand’s website and shop directly from their site.

Either way, We R Local’s mission is to get local brands out there, get them the exposure, recognition and the support they so deserve.  Shoppers are been bombarded with adverts on social media by all these mass-produced imported products that are flooding our market, that we are forgetting to support our local entrepreneurs, who are extremely talented and offer great quality products.  After all, when you shop local and support a small local business, you are supporting a family, a dream and something much bigger than just a corporate number – you are investing in South Africa, her people, their creativity and their dreams.

We R Local offers a beneficial environment where shoppers and local brands can connect – helping shoppers discover our community’s best kept brands in a trusted online marketplace of local suppliers. The online convenience consumers receive with the social and economic benefits of supporting local businesses is a smart, sustainable choice that strengthens community ties and promotes a more resilient local economy.

So, join We R Local as a vendor or list in the local directory, and let’s share our community’s best kept brands with the rest of South Africa. And when you looking for that perfect gift, something to spoil yourself with or any product, think local first and browse We R Local for wonderful locally made products. Together we can make a difference and create a movement for South Africans to support our local entrepreneurs and their brands.

Till our next blog, Shop Local, Support Dreams.