ISME is asking Irish shoppers to consider shopping local this year to support their own communities and maintain a buzz along Ireland’s main streets.
With only a few weeks until Christmas, ISME is reminding customers that every €1 spent locally on their Christmas shop could generate up to €4 in their community.
Shopping locally for goods and services returns multiples of the customers spend back to the community while also helping local businesses maintain jobs in Irish towns and villages.
ISME is urging customers across the country to ensure they devote a portion of their seasonal spend to local bricks-and-mortar or Irish online stores.
It further asks that shoppers only buy hard-to-find gifts unavailable elsewhere from multinational companies.
To help people make local choices, ISME has created two online portals – one for consumers and one for businesses.
Consumers can browse a variety of categories such as activities and entertainment, fashion, food and drink, retail, and Irish breaks which offer gift ideas for Christmas and showcases local businesses.
Businesses, in turn, can access a directory of B2B products and services such as corporate gifts, legal and financial services, IT and marketing, transport, training and more.
‘Cheer On Irish Retailers’
Speaking ahead of the festive season, the chief executive at ISME Neil McDonnell said, “We are hoping that Irish consumers will bring some Christmas cheer to Irish retailers this year and decide to shop locally.
“By consciously choosing to buy locally, even a portion of our purchases can have a meaningful impact, as each euro spent locally can generate two, three or even four times its value in community wealth.
“This Christmas, we must take the opportunity to support local retailers and hospitality providers.”
McDonnell concluded, “Making these choices can even lead to time, money and effort being saved and can even reduce our environmental footprint by keeping some of our festive spending close to home.”
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