THE Mayor of Bridport has endorsed a new way of online shopping in a bid to support local retailers.

Councillor Ian Bark has expressed his admiration for ShopAppy, a website designed to bring together all the products sold by local businesses so shoppers can search for items easily and buy from a local retailer.

The website launched in the town earlier this year and a number of local businesses have already signed up, including Washingpool Farm, Dark Bear and Café Bean.

Cllr Bark is encouraging shoppers to use the website when they shop online to help support local independent retailers to stay in the town after a difficult year.

He said: "The Covid pandemic has brought about a quiet revolution in our high street shops. Many of our local businesses now have their own online presence which has certainly made shopping easier during those long weeks and months of lockdown.

"It is now time to bring all of those individual online services together under one local platform – a local one stop online shop for Bridport.

"Anything you spend online using ShopAppy, except bank processing charges, goes to our local businesses. So it works because together we can help our local independent shops to stay in our town. It is hard for them in a world of online giants and supermarkets.

"I am sure like me you would prefer a world and a future where local shops, local businesses and local communities support each other. ShopAppy has the potential to do just that."

For more information and to start shopping, visit www.shopappy.com