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15 May 2026

BT has announced price increases on copper lines, ISDN and multiline setups starting from May 2026

14 May 2026

Following a strong industry response to Gogeta’s decision to remove retailer fees entirely, the cycle-to-work provider is encouraging independent retailers to take a more proactive role in...

8 May 2026

Bike shops across the UK have been at the centre of a week-long celebration

1 May 2026

An independent bike shop in Yorkshire has been crowned the first ever Local Bike Shop Awards winner, securing 42% of the public vote.

1 May 2026

ACT partner Gogeta has announced it has cut retailer fees to 0% effective immediately, becoming the first UK cycle-to-work scheme to remove retailer charges entirely.

24 Apr 2026

Cycling enthusiasts across the UK are being invited to vote for their favourite independent bike shop as the first ever Local Bike Shop Awards enters its final stage.

19 Apr 2026

From our many brilliant entries down to 8 finalists, the judging panel will be evaluating and championing independent bike shops up and down the country that make an impact in their...

17 Apr 2026

The Bikeability Trust is set to receive £78 million as part of a £108 million Government funding package to boost walking, wheeling and cycling across England, marking the largest...

17 Apr 2026

An independent bike shop has reopened its doors less than 24 hours after a ram raid saw around £40,000 worth of stock stolen and a further £50,000 in damage caused to the premises.

16 Apr 2026

The ACT is urging independent bike shops to enter the first ever Local Bike Shop Awards before entries close on Sunday 19th April.

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Nearst enables you to stay in contact with your customers via Whatsapp

Posted on in Cycles News

ACT partner NearSt introduce the option to add WhatsApp chat functionality on your NearSt shop page!

As more people are beginning to self-isolate many shops are having to introduce more methods to keep running their businesses running. It's a rapidly changing situation for shops and communication with your customers plays an important role.

To help make it as easy as possible for your customers to contact you, NearSt have rapidly developed the option to add WhatsApp chat functionality on your NearSt shop page. The new service is available from today, is completely free, and will allow shoppers to contact you directly via WhatsApp.

All you need is a WhatsApp Business Account to receive any messages sent through your shop page. Setting up a WhatsApp Business account is very simple (and free!), and will take you less than a minute. It gives you a very easy way to be reachable for your customers, without giving away your personal mobile phone number or mixing personal and business messages.

Just follow these simple steps:

  1. Download the WhatsApp Business app on your iPhone or Android phone.
  2. Once you open the app, you will be asked to enter a phone number. It's recommended to use your shop's landline number for that!
  3. It will try to send an SMS to that number at first, which might fail in the case of a landline, but you will then be able to request an automated phone call with the code needed to verify the number. After that's done, you'll get a chance to set your business name and some other optional details, like an address and opening hours.
  4. Once everything is set up, go into Business Settings > Short Link and copy the link WhatsApp has generated. Send that link to support@near.st, and we'll connect it up to your NearSt shop page!

If you have any questions or need any support getting set up feel free to get in touch with the team at NearSt who will be happy to help hello@near.st

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