The nights
may be long but Chesterfield has its usual sparkle thanks to the fabulous
Christmas lights.
They almost make Christmas shopping pleasurable for those of
us that don’t like it.
For those of
you that do then the town has so much to offer – from high street chains to
independent retailers that offer something a little bit different and out of
the ordinary. And thanks to the Internet some of Chesterfield’s home grown
products will be appearing under trees and on tables this Christmas as well,
all helping spread the word about what our town has to offer.
The high
street is facing its toughest battle ever. However, the internet is integral to
its survival. UK retailing delivers nearly 10% of all its sales online and an
increasing proportion of this comes from mobile devices. We
want to keep Chesterfield booming and top of the charts for least vacant
shops, so earlier this year Destination Chesterfield ran a free Digital High
Street course to give the town’s independent retailers a helping hand to get
online and maximise their sales this Christmas.
Thanks to
the internet, we are seeing Northern Tea Merchants’ tea and coffee travelling
as far afield as Scandinavia and Russia, jewellery retailer Adorn has customers
in Canada, Scotland and the Netherlands and our very own home grown ceramist
Clare Gage is selling her products through the well-known online retailer Not
on the High Street.com as well as locally at Created Gallery on Chatsworth
Road.
Chesterfield’s
contribution to your Christmas doesn’t stop at gifts, the town and its food and
drink producers can even cater for your big nights out and in. As we saw
recently at the Food and Drink Awards we have some fabulous eateries in the
town which, quite literally, cater for every taste. Maybe you’ll be enjoying a
bottle of Brampton Brewery’s finest with your Christmas meal or one of Global
Brands’ myriad of products in a local bar with friends?
