We’re on a mission to liberate the high street – and put ethical online shopping into everyone’s hands.
It all started with a casual conversation.
One day, Martin and Phil – the founders of Just By Here – got chatting about the high street. Big apps were getting more popular. Local businesses were almost forced into using them so they didn’t miss out. The problem is the cut that the big boys take – so large that it forces businesses to put up prices or earn less money. Either way, at the end of the day, this hurts all of us. Martin and Phil said: “It shouldn’t be like this” – and they decided to do something about it.
The idea was simple enough. Instead of buying from big online stores, or from local stores through an app which kept most of the profit for itself, Martin and Phil decided to create an app to level the playing field.
The app would only take the smallest possible commission on a sale. It would provide local businesses with everything they need to trade online – no matter what kind of business that is. People would be able to search once across every local business. Most importantly, the app wouldn’t stand in the way of local businesses building relationships with their customers – and would incorporate chat, so that retailers and customers could converse.
That app is here. It’s called Just By Here.
After a several years of development, Just By Here is rolling out across the UK. It’s free to download, people only pay for what they buy – as you’d expect. And it does everything Martin and Phil wanted it to.
Why use Just By Here?
Just By Here is a great app, but it is the ethical underpinning of the business which is most important. Many of the apps used by local businesses take a massive commission – so big that it either pushes prices up for consumers or profits down for the reseller. Or both. Just By Here is open about its commission structure, taking only a small cut. We want local businesses to thrive and for local people to use those businesses – instead of spending money away from the community.