Eight in 10 consumers plan to shop local

84% of respondents said they were more likely to shop locally online this year

Mon, 14 Dec, 2020 - 07:15

Alan Healy

More than 80% of Irish consumers said they more likely to shop local online or in-person according to new research carried out by Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs).

The survey by Amarach Research sampled more than 1,900 Irish consumers and was carried out as part of the LEO's Look for Local campaign.

Of those surveyed, eight out of 10 said that they were aware of campaigns encouraging individuals and businesses to look locally when buying goods or services. 84% of respondents said they were more likely to shop locally online this year. In addition, 80% said they would look to support local in-store.

85% of those surveyed felt there were more local businesses trading online than in 2019, while 83% plan to support more local businesses in 2021.

The Local Enterprise Offices have approved over 11,000 Trading Online Vouchers this year, an increase of over 800% from 2019. The voucher enables small businesses to get established online or improve an existing online presence.

Oisin Geoghegan, chair of the network of Local Enterprise Offices, said it was great to see people across communities supporting local businesses, many of which have had to completely change the way they do business this year.