Shop local turns Black Friday green
We’ve all been encouraged to shop local this year and the public have responded.
New figures for online retail over the Green Friday weekend show that spending on Irish websites more than doubled over the regular Christmas shopping launch weekend, increasing year-on-year by 135 per cent.
39 per cent of all online spending by Irish Revolut users on Green Friday on 27 November, went to Irish websites, while 61 per cent went to international retailers. This marks a significant shift to buying Irish online, compared to last year, when just 28 per cent of online spending went to domestic websites.
The pandemic has shaken many small businesses and Irish producers, but one positive out of all the setbacks is that community is now stronger, Champion Green founder Marian O’Gorman believes.
“People realise that supporting each other and local business is critical now, if we are to recover from this huge economic and social challenge. As the festive shopping rush begins, I would encourage consumers firstly, to stay safe, and secondly, to make shopping local a priority,” the businesswoman said.
Retail Excellence predicts that €6bn will be spent in retail in Ireland during December. Christmas trade, which can start in September, represents up to 50 per cent of annual turnover in some sectors, according to Duncan Graham, Retail Excellence CEO.
“Retail is Ireland's largest industry and our largest private sector employer, in towns and cities across the country. Local jobs relate directly to spending locally, so we are asking consumers to please shop consciously this Christmas.”
Ecommerce has seen an unprecedented surge prompted by Covid restrictions, with An Post indicating that half of the parcels it now handles in the new online shopping boom are from Irish retailers.
Visa data shows that 40 per cent of Irish Visa cardholders, who did not shop online prior to March, are now making ecommerce transactions.
Ensuring that Christmas spending stays in the local economy will make a real difference, Sven Spollen-Behrens, Director of the Small Firms Association added.
“The extent of online shopping with local retailers for Green Friday was encouraging. We need this to continue now, instore too, and for households to consciously look at dealing with locally owned firms for all of their household and family product and services. Small businesses are the cornerstone of towns and communities across Ireland, and the coming month will be crucial to their recovery,” he said.