Cash Mob Descends On Nature's Bin On National Cash Mob Day

The creator of the Cash Mob phenomenon, 32-year-old Andrew Samtoy of Cleveland, organized over 300 shoppers to gather and spend money at Nature’s Bin on Saturday, March 24th. Samtoy reported that Nature’s Bin was selected as the target for a cash mob because of its contributions to the community. As both a “buy local” and “build community” effort, he told the mob gathered outside the store that he only has three rules: "1) You have to spend at least $20, 2) meet three people you’ve never met before, and 3) you must have fun."

The Cash Mob movement started last fall and has spread throughout the United States as Samtoy’s 1400+ facebook friends in other cities picked up on the idea and organized their own events. And since March 24th was declared “National Cash Mob Day”, the national media flocked to interview the Cash Mob founder at Nature’s Bin early Saturday morning. MSNBC, Reuters, and local media outlets Channels 19, 5, 3, Fox News, and CoolCleveland were all on hand to cover the story.  

Scott Duennes, Executive Director of Nature’s Bin, shared some statistics from the event: Nature’s Bin experienced a 30% increase (over $6000) in average Saturday sales, and, between 2-4pm, over 300 shoppers explored the aisles of the store. The nonprofit natural foods store was ready for the friendly chaos and added extra staff and cash registers for the event.

"The publicity from this, raising our profile, is a huge plus," Duennes said.

See more photos, articles, and the CoolCleveland.com video about the event on the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.