Why shop local?
In today’s global economy, it's easy to take for granted the fact we can access products from across the globe at the click of a button, often for cheaper than ever before. But with global supply lines closing and international transport becoming more and more difficult in the wake of COVID-19, we’re slowly realising that supporting large offshore mass production is as detrimental to our local economy as it is unsustainable.
Fortunately, there has been a large resurgence of support for local businesses which gives hope to the prospects of thousands of New Zealanders. Let’s explore what it means to ‘support local’ and how your purchasing decisions play a huge part in empowering Kiwi businesses and communities.
What does ‘shop local’ mean?
The ethos behind the idea to shop local is a simple one and involves consumers turning away from large corporate owned or international businesses, to instead support local farmers, craftspeople or providers of products and services. Fortunately for us in New Zealand, we have plenty of opportunities to support domestically owned businesses and every purchasing decision we make - from which supermarket chain we buy our groceries from, to whether we support NZ made fashion - is a vote for the future of business in New Zealand.
Why shop local?
Help foster employment and the economy
Based on data from StatsNZ, small businesses (employing between 1-19 people) accounted for 25% of registered businesses in New Zealand, employing 650,000 people between them. A further 71% of New Zealand businesses were operated by sole traders, that’s 388,323 people [1].
When buying from businesses like these, significantly more money stays within the country, as opposed to being shipped overseas to international head offices and pockets. Not only that but our businesses can afford to employ more people, pay them fair wages and train them to keep money, jobs and skills where they’re needed.
Access to more unique and creatively designed products
There are some very clever and talented people in New Zealand. Our position at the bottom of the world has allowed us to develop our own way of getting the job done and we’re lauded the world over for our creativity and ingenuity. It’s this spirit that gives our local shops, cafes and other small businesses their uniqueness and provides us with products that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. By supporting those businesses instead of chains, we ensure that uniqueness is preserved as a part of our community.
Better service
Excellent customer service and reliable products are the most important things for small local businesses, their reputation and survival depend on it. Unlike a large corporation, a small business will bend over backward to ensure their customers are happy, and chances are they knew more about your needs in the first place anyway. Maybe you’ll pay a bit more for it, but the money is going back into the business to give it the ability to succeed as well as keep the money flowing in the local ecosystem.
How can I shop local?
There are so many ways you can start supporting local businesses. Here are some ideas to get started.
Search online marketplaces: There are dozens of online collectives popping up to help bring attention to small kiwi owned businesses doing awesome things, check out websites like General Collective Online and shopkiwi.online, or visit the NZ Made Products Facebook page.
Head to the shops, not the mall: Malls and shopping centres are by and large home to chain stores from around the world, and New Zealand owned options will be few and far between. Instead, pop down to your local shops, here you can find small one-off stores, boutiques and cafes run and owned by locals.
Check the About or Contact pages: When shopping online it can be hard to know if the business is local or not. The best way to find out is to check their About or Contact pages to see if they’ve listed an address or country of origin.
Shopping local has benefits for both you as well as your local community. So next time you head out to spend some of your hard earned money, consider giving it to an equally hard working local, they’ll certainly thank you for it!
Sources
StatsNZ. New Zealand business demography statistics: At February 2019. https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/new-zealand-business-demography-statistics-at-february-2019