Jason Armstrong of the SuperSaver app is on a mission to support Cheshire’s high streets

Great British Life: Jason Armstrong and Denise Nicholls of the SuperSaver App are on a mission to help Cheshire's independent traders and shoppers Photo: Lady Morrison PhotographyJason Armstrong and Denise Nicholls of the SuperSaver App are on a mission to help Cheshire's independent traders and shoppers Photo: Lady Morrison Photography (Image: Copyright2019ladymorrisonphotography)

SuperSaver’s Jason Armstrong is flying in to back Cheshire Life’s Keep Life Local campaign

For years smaller businesses have been swallowed up by much bigger, profit-hungry organisations that moved their outlets out of town because it was better for parking, and stores could stay open longer. 2019 saw the worst year on record for the high street sector, with unprecedented levels of store closures, job losses, and empty shops. Then came 2020. Now, in many towns, 20 to 30 per cent of business properties stand empty. The high street is reaching crisis point and communities need to rally to save their local independent traders.

As businesses reopen and business owners strive to recreate vital, vibrant town centres once again, we need to ask questions about the social purpose and economic functions of central areas: are they purely for profit, and profit alone? Or should we be safeguarding our town and villages centres for the greater good of smaller businesses, and for social interaction?

It is not only the businesses that are suffering; there are increased mental health issues and loneliness for many social groups as a result of not having a place to be.

Let’s bring back the albeit slower, service-led and home delivery businesses such as the milkman, the grocery and fish vans, the pop man and the bloke from Ringtons who would deliver your tea and coconut snowballs... These are the type of services that have started to make a comeback during lockdown, and we must continue to encourage and use them. The big-name shops and chains have dominated our wallets for far too long and have, without doubt, contributed massively to the demise of many generations of family shopkeepers. We must curtail this decline before it really is too late.

The SuperSaver app was born out of a passion and drive to encourage people to shop locally and help Cheshire businesses not only to survive but to thrive into the future. Using GPS technology, it provides a variety of offers to Cheshire shoppers, incentivising them to support their high street businesses.

When the project started three years ago it was my mission to help these businesses to grow our local towns once again, and bring back that wonderful sense of community from a bygone era. I believe the pandemic has given all communities the time to reflect on what is important to them. The sense of community and support for one another locally has never been stronger – it has never been more important to support our independent traders and enable them to survive.

The free SuperSaver mobile app gives shoppers access to hundreds of money-saving vouchers in your town, publicising offers and products. It can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

Vouchers are simple to use – shoppers just head into the business and show the voucher they want to redeem. There are new offers each month and users receive notifications when they are out shopping to let them know if a business is running an offer.

Find out more about the SuperSaver app here and help to Keep Life Local