Okehampton Times joins 'Shop Locally' campaign

You can't really expect shopkeepers to work 7 days a week, nor can you expect them to pay for extra staff when the turnover simply isn't there any more. Sunday opening is unnecessary if you can shop on Saturday instead and most shops are open until 4pm on Saturday - plenty of time to do a shop. I know that some shops have occasionally opened beyond 5pm but these days there is no-one in town past 3.30 - it is very disheartening for them and longer opening hours is just an excuse for not supporting them. Wake up Okehampton - you are going to lose shop after shop if you don't shop local. What is your preference - boarded up shops with an out of town Tesco like Crediton or a town full of independent shops offering a full range of products with knowledgeable customer service?

I would love to be able to do more of my shopping locally (by which I mean not just Waitrose!) but, as some one who works full time this is nearly impossible. Stores in the town are open 9-5 (or sometimes even less) during the week & many open shortened hours on the weekend, if they are open at all. Sundays are a write-off; nothing is open! Most of the people living in Oke who have disposable income have it because they work! Do you see the problem?!
My advice to the shopkeepers of Okehampton is; if you want us to support you you need to you need to break from the norm! Open late a couple evenings a week. Open at weekends. Open (now, prepare yourselves!) ON SUNDAYS!!

It's v interesting to see the difference between Crediton/Exeter newspapers and the Oke Times. When a friend who has a shop in town approached the Oke Times a few years back to see if they would be interested in doing a little article on the shop to welcome it to the town - they said "you're not local". In fact, it's rare that you ever see an article in the Times about any of the shops - don't these independent hard working folks deserve to spread a bit of news about themselves - v strange! They make the town what it is. Crediton Courier on the other hand fully supports all its shops (not just those run by "locals") by doing welcome articles when they first open and then they follow up throughout the year with any news that the various shops can offer. Finally, it may well be too late to "shop local" as I hear from many of the shopkeepers that Christmas trade was dire and that they certainly weren't supported locally for the second year running..... one shop said that they took more last year when they were snowed in!