We’re absolutely delighted to say that we have scooped a major national award for our eBay store! The UK Community Hero Award is one of ten awards presented to businesses and organisations across the UK to recognise exceptional or innovative use of the online selling platform.
Our five shops across the county have been very successful in raising funds needed to support the work we do. We decided to build on this success by expanding our retail operation and opening an eBay shop. Through this online platform we can sell even more of the high-quality items that are donated to us to a much wider audience.
The launch of the eBay shop proved to be a very timely move. With traditional High Street retail seeing incredibly challenging trading conditions prior to COVID-19, the first lockdown hit hard. However our on-line retail was well underway and we used the first lockdown to develop ideas and ways to expand our ecommerce offer. This means we were better prepared for this second lockdown and can ensure the organisation has an income during what are incredibly hard times for charities across the country.
People can shop online with Emmaus Hertfordshire at www.ebay.co.uk/str/emmaushertfordshire
The Emmaus Hertfordshire shops, house clearance service and recycling workshops provide our 39 companions with meaningful work opportunities and training, and the launch of the eBay shop has given them the chance to develop their digital skills.
John Chesters, CEO of Emmaus Hertfordshire, said:
“We are delighted to receive this award from eBay, especially as we were up against some tough competition. The award really reflects the hard work of our retail team, companions and volunteers.
“We launched our eBay store so that we could reach more customers but actually over recent months online selling has become even more important to us. While our physical shops have been affected by COVID-19 closures, we will be able to keep selling to our customers thanks to our eBay shop.
“The launch of our e-commerce business has also opened up new opportunities to those living here as part of our community, enabling them to learn and develop new digital skills.”
eBay received over 1,200 entries for this year’s awards, demonstrating the depth and breadth of small businesses on the platform. Following an exceptionally challenging start to the year for many small businesses, each of the ten category prize winners will receive a £5,000 prize to invest in their business.
Murray Lambell, General Manager of eBay UK, said: ‘These award-winning small but mighty businesses are a testament to the wealth of entrepreneurial talent right across Britain and we are privileged to have them trade on our platform. Everything means more if you’re small. The ups and downs mean more to them and they put more heart and soul into every sale. When you buy from a small business, you buy from real people and we’ve been blown away by the incredible stories of resilience, tenacity and courage. As more small businesses join eBay, it is also fantastic to see the appetite to shop and support small across the UK also increase.’