New trend for 'cash mobbing' where customers visit a store en masse at an agreed time to spend money is gathering pace, recently boosting sales for US DIY store Crowder Bros Ace Hardware.


Around 300 people showed up at the store in Lakeland, Florida, between 3pm and 5pm on Saturday, September 11 - all ready and willing to spend. Luckily the retailer had been briefed about the organised cash mob ahead of the event, so that the store owners could prepare for the crowds of shoppers.

Bowled over the response, store manager Scott Yarbrough told local Florida newspaper The Ledger that the store doubled what it would normally sell on a Saturday.

Local Chrissanne Long, who organised the cash mob, is already planning similar events in other nearby towns.

The first reported cash mob took place in Buffalo in America last August and the trend has spread across the US, Canada, with a series of stories of struggling independents being supported by their local community. One such story saw locals descend on Chagrin Hardware store in Ohio, vowing to spend at least $20 each in the shop, which has been a fixture in the village since 1857. The event was a success ad the owners were thrilled with the turnout and, naturally, the boost in takings.

And now the trend seems to have spread to the UK, as shoppers turned out in force to 'mob' an independent book store in Hackney last Friday. The event, reported to be the first of its kind in the UK, was organised by Ken Banks, who has set up a website www.cashmobbers.net to support the movement. According to the site, a cash mob is also set to target Cambridge gift and home accessories shop Breeze on August 29.

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