New ‘Shop local’ project promotes downtown businesses, benefits customers

[April 03, 2019]  

There is a fun, creative new project kicking off this month in downtown Lincoln. A ‘Window display contest’ will run monthly to build character of the downtown storefronts while drawing customers into the stores to vote for their favorite display. At the end of the month a two-step process will determine the window winner and the customer winner. The votes will be counted and a winning window will be announced. The votes for that store will then go into a fishbowl and a shopper’s name will be drawn to receive a $10 gift card spendable at the winning business.

The project is the brain child of Kathie Williams of Small Town Creations. Williams came up with the idea as a way to promote shopping local and also as a means of adding interest to the downtown storefronts. When she started talking to her neighboring retailers about the plan, she was happy to hear that there were several who were interested in participating.

In addition, another downtown business stepped up to offer up some incentives for the stores as well as the shoppers. Michelle Bauer at Country Financial is donating a traveling plaque that will be handed from one winning store to the next throughout the year. Bauer is also funding the $10 gift cards.

Currently, there are 15 downtown businesses signed up to participate:

Abe's
Cooper Penny
Debbie's Downtown Floral
D-Fades
Johnny's Buy sell and Trade
Lincoln Grand 8 Theater
Make It Sew
Mary Todd Hallmark
National Rent to Own
Pet Connection Pet Store
Renew Consignment
Sherwin Williams
Sir Renna Tea
Small Town Creations
Sorrento's

Williams said that with this being the first of the month, store owner/managers are working to design their windows and soon all the participants will have something set up for shoppers to judge. Judging will continue throughout the month and may only be done in person inside the store.

To vote for a particular window, shoppers will go inside the store and fill out their voting form. If they happen to wish to vote for more than one store, they will perform the same task inside each store.

Williams said the object is to get people in the door. Increased traffic in the stores will equate to greater sales opportunities, and in the end, that is what everyone wants to see. “Our hope is that this will draw business downtown, help beautify downtown businesses and have a little fun with our town!”

At the end of each month the votes will be counted and the window display winner will be announced. The business winner will be presented with the traveling plaque that will have their business name and the month they won engraved on it. The name of the shopper/voter for that specific window will be drawn from all the votes and that person will be notified they have won the $10 gift card.

Williams said that while the number of businesses signing on for the contest right is impressive, there are other businesses downtown that she hopes will want to join in the fun later.

She noted that on Monday night, she had 14 businesses, but on Tuesday morning number 15 called her and said they wanted to be involved as well.

On Tuesday morning a number of the businesses already had their displays set up, some were still a work in progress and from what LDN could see from the lens, this is going to be a fun event that will encourage community pride, drive business owners to come up with fresh, fun new ideas and entertain shoppers as they venture around the square and beyond.

When you’re downtown, be sure to check out the windows. Look for the signs that indicate a business is participating in the contest, choose a favorite, and then go in and cast your vote.

[Nila Smith]