Shop’s Open: Search site for reopening stores launches

www.ShopOpenings.com confirms which UK shops and businesses are open near you

Mastercard (MA) today introduces www.ShopOpenings.com, a new online search tool that confirms which shops and businesses are open for customers to visit as the nation gradually reopens over the coming weeks, in line with Government guidance. Built in partnership with Sixth Sense, this new search site is free to use and offers people a latest record of which shops and businesses are open for trading.

The site will allow people to search which shops and businesses are open locally, across the UK, including: restaurants/cafés and places to eat, clothing and shoe stores, opticians and dry cleaners, to name but a few of our high street businesses which have had to temporarily close in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ShopOpenings.com is optimised for mobile phone use and has been built by Sixth Sense, a technology company specialising in data analysis. The site will record a shop or business as open if it has taken a Mastercard payment in the previous 7 days, with updates to the site on a daily basis.

Shops don’t need to register to take part. The site will automatically record them as ‘open’ if they are trading and have taken a Mastercard payment within their store. The ShopOpenings.com search will also provide a Google search link for people who want more detail about the business, such as contact details and opening times.

“Over the coming weeks and months, as our high streets gradually reopen, ShopOpenings.com will offer both consumers and businesses a free and simple, but valuable, way to confirm they are ready for customers to return. By using Mastercard insights and technology, ShopOpenings.com will also be able to give people an almost real time view of shops and businesses as they reopen.” Commented Scott Abrahams, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Mastercard UK.

"We have designed the website and search tool to be intuitive and easy to use for everyone, not just those familiar with technology. In the development of the site, we have focused on supporting consumers’ revert to their usual shopping experiences, which is fundamental to the gradual return to normal for our economy and the recovery of UK retailers.” Giacomo Filippo Porzio, CEO of Sixth Sense.

Initially, ShopOpenings.com will be available for searches of shops and businesses in the UK and Italy.

ShopOpenings.com is part of Mastercard’s wider Recovery Insights programme, which has been designed to support businesses and governments across the globe looking for resources to help better manage the health, safety and economic risks presented by the recent pandemic. Recovery Insights offers a set of tools, innovation and research that can provide some certainty today and support data-driven decision-making for a more digital tomorrow. More information on Mastercard Recovery Insights can be found here.

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