Google Digital Garage is coming to Beverley
Tue 12th June 2018
Google has announced that it is bringing its Google Digital Garage to Beverley, East Yorkshire on 15th June, offering local people free advice and coaching on digital skills to help grow their business, career and confidence. For the first time, the training will be tailored to local market traders from markets like Beverley Market to help them reach new customers beyond their local area and grow.
The bespoke training courses for Beverley’s market traders will include: building a digital marketing plan, how to make your stall more visible online, and social media strategy. Google will also bring its street view cameras to Beverley Market that weekend, allowing local market traders to benefit from the online presence to attract more customers.
There will also be a variety of free workshops and face-to-face coaching for anyone from the local area, whatever their level of experience. Topics covered will include: taking your first steps online, how to build your digital CV and personal brand online.
Despite their rich and entrepreneurial heritage, markets are facing significant challenges in today’s economy, as competition from supermarkets, shopping centres and online stores grows, and digital technologies transform how people live, work and shop. Research from Innovate UK found that the top priority for towns in the UK in order of importance to their High Street, town or city centre, was digital skills (42%) and improved digital marketing (36%). In its Digital High Street 2020 reports, the Future High Streets Forum identified eliminating the digital skills gap as one of the four key achievements required to revitalise high streets.
‘The Great British Market Revival’ study carried out by Google, reveals new opportunities for traders in Yorkshire and Humber to grow their reach and attract new customers. The research shows that market traders have a growing digital opportunity, with millennials today visiting more, spending more, and heading online more than their seniors to seek out their local markets. At the same time, over half (55%) of people in Yorkshire and Humber said that they visit markets less today than they did five years ago, citing a lack of digital presence as one of the reasons they don’t visit markets more often.
Ronan Harris, Managing Director Google UK, commented: "In the digital age, a basic understanding of how the online world works is useful and when it comes to business, it’s essential. We are delighted to bring the Google Digital Garage to Beverley and ensure everyone has access to free digital skills workshops and one-to-one coaching.
“We want to give market traders in Beverley the digital skills they need to make the most of new technologies to level the playing field against their competition, reach new customers beyond their local area and grow, ensuring their markets remain at the heart of the local community.”
Local MP, Graham Stuart, said: “It is great to see a world-renowned business like Google coming to Beverley and Holderness and helping to improve digital skills for people in our area. Their Digital Garage, coming to Beverley on 15th June, will give residents the chance to improve their internet confidence and will give local businesses the tools to expand their digital profiles, showing that the East Riding remains a great place in which to live and do business.”
With 76% of people in Yorkshire and Humber revealing that they visit markets to buy fresh food, and 27% saying they go to buy plants and flowers, there is a real opportunity for market traders in these sectors to take advantage of the opportunities.
The Google Digital Garage will be at Waffle 21, Colonial House, Swinemoor Lane, Beverley HU17 0LS
on June 15th, running from 10am-4pm. Visitors can either book in advance or simply drop by for on-the-spot help. For more information, or to sign up to a session, visithttp://g.co/MarketsTourUK
