We know what we need to do

Shopping locally has always been a noble idea.

It’s always made sense that we should try and give our money to local and Irish producers so that we could all benefit as those local and Irish producers re-spend our money here and help to support other Irish businesses.

The multiplier effect means that it has always made sense to spend locally, but now it’s a bit different. Now, it’s imperative, now it’s vital, now it will save jobs.

After a year like no other, when so many retailers have had to be closed for large parts of the year, it is crucial that we all try and support them now, during the belated run up to Christmas.

The Christmas period is going to be so important for our retailers, who haven’t been able to sell very much for almost the majority of the year at this stage.

According to Duncan Graham, Managing Director of Retail Excellence, so-called ‘non-essential ‘retailers generate over 70 per cent of annual turnover in the last quarter of the year and recent Level 5 restrictions will “inevitably push many more businesses into insolvency”.

We have to mitigate this as much as possible and people have tried to. Online shopping has been one major tool, but according to a 2018 report from Retail Excellence Ireland 70 per cent of Irish online spend goes overseas.

This is a huge figure, but at least it means that there is room for us to do so much more to support local businesses if we just try and but what we can from retailers in Ireland.

Online shopping has already been so important for so many retailers who have not been able to open their front doors over the last month. But not every business is really set up to sell online and there are products that we need to see in person to assess and appreciate.

Many more people have become comfortable buying online in recent years, which has helped people to do a lot more online buying from local retailers.

Recently, new data released revealed that spending online has this year been greater than physical spending for the first time in Ireland.

The data from financial technology company Revolut found that since the start of November, 51 per cent of consumer spending has taken place online.

Before Covid-19 restrictions were brought in over March, around 25 per cent of consumer spending took place online.

Worthy initiatives

There have been a host of great initiatives that have tried to mitigate the worst effects of the lockdowns. They’ve all helped to keep businesses going in the toughest of times.

Champion Green is calling on all adults in Ireland to click local and spend an extra €50 in November which will result in a much needed €180 million boost in the economy. They want is to turn Black Friday Green this November - a great idea.

The Irish SME Association (ISME) has a Shop Local – Not Just for Christmas campaign, highlighting the importance of supporting Irish businesses throughout the year. They say that every €10 spent on Irish products generates more than €40 of benefit to local communities.

Guaranteed Irish launched GuaranteedIrishGifts.ie last month, a new initiative showcasing the best of locally based businesses throughout the country with hundreds of gift ideas from corporate gifts to personalised presents. The new website promotes Guaranteed Irish member brands and businesses, featuring hundreds Irish gift ideas.

And businesses have needed all help possible. Around 40 per cent of micro-sized firms and 50 per cent of small and medium sized firms had a revenue shortfall in the period of restrictions from March to June. This is where revenue was lower than expenditure on a monthly basis according to figures from the Economic and Social Research Institute published in September.

The total shortfall across SMEs over this period is estimated to be between €6bn and €10bn.

The truth is that Irish jobs will depend on us buying Irish this Christmas.

Thousands of businesses are now closed due to the Level 5 restrictions. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are at risk.

Make the effort and buy local!