What is a Cash Mob and Why do we do Them?

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Perhaps you’ve heard some buzz lately around Litchfield Bancorp’s Community Cash Mobs, but you weren’t quite sure what they are and why we do them. As part of our Locally Owned, Locally Grown campaign to help support local businesses and the communities in which we serve, we launched our Cash Mobs in 2018. A Cash Mob is a community event that people use to join together and support local businesses.

The history behind Cash Mobs.

The idea of Cash Mobs originally stemmed from flash mobs – a group of people who meet at a predetermined time and location and perform a dance number as a group around unsuspecting people. However, with Cash Mobs, instead of performing a song or dance, the people visit a local, independent business and spend about $20 to help boost that businesses sales.

Cash Mobs were started in 2011 by blogger Chris Smith from Buffalo, NY. He used social media to gather over 100 people at a determined time and date to visit a local wine merchant. The store was able to triple their normal business for the day. Ultimately Smith derived the idea after seeing how influential social media could be and how successful Groupon and LivingSocial have been on small businesses.

The goal of Cash Mobs is to boost sales for small businesses and turn an average day into a fantastic day. There are some rules that we follow to make sure the Mob is a success:

  1. We get permission for the local business owner prior to the event
  2. The business is locally owned and operated
  3. The business has products or services for both men and women that are economically priced.
  4. We pick a specific date and time with the business owner at least 2-4 weeks in advance that allows many people to visit – night or weekend hours.
  5. We encourage participants to post on social media using the hashtag #LBCCASHMOB.

During the event we only ask 3 things:

  1. Be kind and courteous during the event – it will be busier than usual
  2. Take photos and post on social media
  3. Enjoy yourself! Spend a few bucks and meet some new people!

Past Cash Mobs have included: Hidden Valley Eatery in Washington Depot, Salisbury Gardens in Salisbury, Empower Karate and Kickboxing in Torrington, G’s Burgers in Watertown, Sportsmen’s in Bantam, Energy Fitness Factory in Torrington, Ponte’s Package Store in Torrington, and The Spa at Litchfield Hills in Litchfield.

For information about future Cash Mobs, you can visit our Facebook Page under Events or our Community and Events page on our website.

Cash Mobs are a great way for Litchfield Bancorp to support the local businesses, people, and communities in which we service. We look forward to the continued success of our Community Cash Mob series and our Locally Owned, Locally Grown campaign.

Paul A. McLaughlin, Jr
Executive Vice President, Chief Retail Banking Officer
860.393.9150

Author: Paul McLaughlin

Paul McLaughlin is thoroughly familiar with the workings of Litchfield Bancorp. He started his career at the Bank as a teller in 1990 and was soon promoted to customer service representative and mortgage originator. Paul was then named manager of Litchfield Bancorp's Washington office in 1995 and, two years later, was promoted to assistant vice president and manager of the Oakville office. As vice president for retail banking, a promotion Paul earned in 2002, he became responsible for all sales and marketing - including training, product development and customer service - for the bank's five-branch network. In 2005, Paul completed a program at the highly regarded American Bankers Association's School of Bank Marketing and Management. In 2009, he was named senior vice president at the bank and in 2013, was also promoted to Chief Operating Officer. Paul is an active community volunteer. He served as chairman of the 2008 United Way fundraising campaign for Northwest Connecticut and continues to reflect the Bank’s deep commitment to community service.