Aberdeen City Council helps businesses navigate digital world

Aberdeen City Council is launching a toolkit to help city centre businesses navigate the digital world as well as gain access to information on grants and digital training.

The online toolkit, accessed on the council’s website, has been developed after engagement with local businesses and includes information from a new more comprehensive tool for measuring footfall data in a wider area across the city centre.

Consumer behaviour and pandemic recovery

The toolkit contains comprehensive information about city centre events, how business or groups can put on their own event, grants for business or groups to hold their own event, and how to access different types of grant support. Meanwhile, the footfall data aims to improve a business’ understanding  of visitor demographics and emerging trends. Insights are based on mobile phone signals, aggregating data over a 24-hour period to provide a comprehensive overview of visitor patterns and behaviours.

It also signposts business support partners offering digital training, website reviews, expert help and webinars, and a simple communications toolkit for promoting businesses and the city centre.

“Embedding local businesses at the heart of the city centre contributes to the sense of place and creates a cornerstone for our city centre economy and local communities”

“Shifts in consumer behaviour, pandemic recovery, and rising energy and living costs have all had an impact on why and how often people visit their local high street. That is as true here in Aberdeen as it is anywhere else in the country,” said councillor Ian Yuill, Aberdeen City Council co-leader.

“The new business toolkit will be a help to shops, cafes, restaurants, and bars in the city centre to further develop and diversify their offering to customers in line with changing consumer habits.”