Spring has finally sprung in Richland County, and shoppers can celebrate the return of warmer months by visiting the Spring Shop Hop in Shiloh this week.
Starting March 17 through the 21, five locations in Shiloh will be offering door prizes, special sale prices, refreshments, giveaways and more. The locations include Blooming Grove Sewing, Country Fabrics, Newswranger Meats, Planktown Country Market LLC, and Planktown Hardware & More.
Angie Seaman, manager of Planktown Hardware & More, said this is the sixth year the five businesses have come together for the Spring Shop Hop. The Hardware store, in addition to hardware, sells essential oils and diffusers, loose-leaf teas and pet supplies, and customers can earn a free gift with purchases during the Shop Hop.
“A lot of the main businesses in the area decided that we needed to do something because out here, it’s very weather-dependent – with the weather being nasty in the winter a lot of times people don’t get out and about,” said Seaman. “So when you’re out here you have to have a reason to come here because you’re not going to drive all the way from Mansfield just to come to one store. We decided to all band together to draw people to the area.”
In order to participate in the Shop Hop, visitors can pick up a passport at the first store visited and have the passport stamped at each participating store. Shoppers can then leave the stamped passport at their last location to qualify for a drawing of five $50 gift cards to use at the store of their choice.
Both Seaman and Wilma Zimmerman, supervisor of Planktown Country Market LLC, said they see a significant increase in customers during the Shop Hop, especially if the weather is nice. Zimmerman said the Shop Hop helps encourage shoppers to buy local.
“They might not have heard of some of the other stores and if they think of entering to win the gift card they’ll step into other stores,” she said. “Even if they don’t buy anything they’ll at least look around and see what it is. I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets them interested in other areas.”
Planktown Country Market LLC offers more than 100 types of cheeses and 100 kinds of deli meats to choose from. During the Shop Hop customers can enjoy food samples and a gift with a $5 purchase.
Seaman said in addition to all the local businesses trying to support each other, they also give back to the community – which is why she noted the importance of buying from local stores.
“If you don’t support the local ones and the small ones now, they can’t give it right back the community,” said Seaman. “Everybody tries to support each other.”
For more information about the Spring Shop Hop, visit www.planktownhardware.com.
“They might not have heard of some of the other stores and if they think of entering to win the gift card they’ll step into other stores,” said Angie Seaman. “Even if they don’t buy anything they’ll at least look around and see what it is. I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets them interested in other areas.”
