Yellow Pages Archives - Listen to Lena

It’s Ba-ack! Mark your calendars, friends! On Saturday, November 28, 2015 – grab your smartphone, your wallet and a latte… it’s time to Shop the Neighbourhood!

They Say: For a third year, Shop The Neighbourhood encourages support for small businesses by promoting local shopping and offering free online and mobile app advertising to participating stores and services.

I Say: It’s the best excuse to go shopping, ever!
STN_Promo_image (2) I believe in give and take. This year, I’ll absolutely partake in online shopping. To counter that, I’m also happy to show support to some of my favourite local businesses. I’ll be in Burlington this Saturday shopping the neighbourhood… and bringing you some of the best sales and offers!

Want to get in on the fun? Here’s what you need to do.

First, download the YP Shopwise app. (YP Shopwise will act as your personal shopper, alerting you to an exclusive deal or promotion in your proximity, and will even provide directions to the store.) Then, on Saturday, November 28, 2015, make a local purchase and take advantage of exclusive event deals offered by the businesses in your neighbourhood. …

Thinking about it, I spend a lot of time talking about the big guys: popular retail, grocery and restaurant chains, both national and international. New products, sales, promos… I’m all over it, like a shopaholic with a platinum credit card. (Or me, with my platinum credit card.)

However, it’s come to my attention that I simply don’t spend enough time tooting the horns of local businesses – and the owners who dedicate a large part of their lives to creating quality, unique (and often delicious) products.

It’s time to change that.

Home grown businesses not only offer local character and prosperity; they build strong communities by sustaining vibrant town centers, linking neighbours in economic and social relationships, and contributing to local causes. And the distinctiveness! Small businesses produce products based, not on a national sales plan, but on their own interests and the needs of their customers – which guarantees a much broader range of product choices. In fact, some of my most unique purchases have been from gift shops, clothing boutiques and cafés in my very own neighbourhood.

Do you shop your neighbourhood?

I’m so pleased to announce my collaboration with Yellow Pages, a company with a century-long legacy of working with Canada’s small businesses. This year, I was one of five writers from across Canada selected to create authentic and original local stories coming from real neighbourhoods and real residents. Introducing Shop The Neighbourhood.
blogger_post-toronto On my feature list? How about Elm Hill Cookies, chock full of sweet treats baked fresh every morning in the heart of downtown Oakville. Or Sienna Boutique, an upscale women’s clothing store serving a community of fashion lovers for almost three years. And I can’t forget about Cagneys, a gastronomic fixture in Streetsville for the last 40 years. …