One Less Trip

The “One Less Trip” initiative is designed to help Battle River businesses survive and thrive by inspiring small shifts and encouraging local shopping.

Battle River Alliance for Economic Development (BRAED) has launched an initiative to support the region’s business owners by encouraging local shopping. BRAED is comprised of 25 member communities across East-Central Alberta that work cooperatively to address community economic development issues from a regional perspective. The “One Less Trip” initiative is designed to help Battle River businesses survive and thrive by inspiring small shifts in consumer spending patterns through education, municipal engagement and incentive programs like contests and special events.

BRAED members are excited to team up with Downtown Camrose and the Camrose Chamber of Commerce in developing this initiative and anticipate welcoming other partners on-board as the year-long project gets underway.

“The One Less Trip initiative will help business owners communicate some important messages, ” says BRAED Vice Chair Carl Marsh of Holden. “We know that even small changes can have a big impact. No one expects residents to completely change their shopping patterns, but even the choice to make one less trip out of the community can have big economic and social effects on the community. ”

“We want people to see the connection between dollars spent locally and the contribution that local business owners make to community life, ” says committee member Sharon Anderson of the Camrose Chamber of Commerce. “Not only do local businesses create employment and generate important tax revenue, they support the events, cultural activities and sport programs that are the fabric of our community. ”

This will be the first time that communities across the Battle River Region have joined forces to support a regional shop local initiative. The program will highlight the savings in terms of time, money and environmental impact that small shifts in spending choices can mean. The One Less Trip initiative will help businesses affect real incremental change by communicating the benefits of shopping local, and cross promoting other local businesses through marketing, employee education, and public outreach.

Local business owner Debbie Thompson of From Kicks to Kids of Camrose is excited to share the message that consumers need not travel to find selection and value. “People often assume that they’ll get better selection or pricing by traveling to a larger urban centre. That’s simply not true. We pride ourselves in being able to match competitors’ prices and ensuring that our customers have the best possible selection. ”

Carl Marsh is hopeful that the shift will start with families doing back to school shopping in the coming weeks. “Why spend time in a car worrying about traffic and parking when you can get what you need right here? Think about what you’d do with the time and money you save. Whether it’s another round of golf or a little more time spent on the back deck, I know I’m happy to make One Less Trip! ”