The Penarth Business Group (PBG) has teamed up with the Vale of Glamorgan Council to bring ShopAppy to Penarth.

Local traders will be given the chance to sign up to a virtual marketplace, enabling all the town's shops to sell their goods in one place.

ShopAppy customers elsewhere browse the site for their favourite high street products before choosing whether to collect them from a collection point or have them delivered to their door.

Details on precisely when and how ShopAppy will be introduced in Penarth are still emerging.

According to Angelina Hall of the PBG, "this in essence will give us our own mini-Amazon, but just for locals to buy from independents."

All local businesses - gift shops, food shops, estate agents, hairdressers, cafes, butchers, takeaways etc. - will be able to take part.

Nub News understands that the Vale of Glamorgan Council has offered to fund the scheme for the first year, meaning it is free for businesses to enrol in. How much the Council has invested is currently unclear.

Since March, social distancing restrictions and intermittent lockdowns have devastated Penarth's once-bustling high street.

The arrival of ShopAppy aims to help the town recover from the pandemic through introducing a "blended buying" approach which incorporates online and in-store shopping.

Thirty-five towns across the UK have enrolled, and Penarth will become the first in Wales.

"It is going to be a great story for the Town as it develops over the next few weeks," says Angelina.

More information coming soon.