69% of Irish Consumers purchased a local product or gift at Christmas according to research released by the Local Enterprise Offices following their Look for Local Christmas Campaign. This was up 3% from when the campaign last ran in Summer 2021.

The campaign also managed to keep the local message front of mind for consumers, particularly at the busiest time of the year running into Christmas.

Of those that saw the campaign 75% said it made them think more about purchasing a local gift, service or experience.

The support local sentiment has been growing since the pandemic began and 70% of those surveyed say they made more local or Irish purchases at Christmas 2021 than they had in previous years.

And it seems like this trend will continue. Of the 700 consumers that were surveyed across the country, 78% said that they will actively try to make local or Irish purchases in 2022.

There was strong agreement from those who viewed the campaign that looking for local was beneficial to the environment (88% agreed), the community (93% agreed) and the economy (94% agreed).

The national, local and digital media campaign was pushed out across the country by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices nationwide with over 4,500 local businesses listed on the Look for Local hub on the Local Enterprise Office website that consumers could access and browse to see what was available in their area.

Damien English, T.D., Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, said; “It was really encouraging to see the strong level of support that the Irish consumers gave to their local businesses over the busy trading period for Christmas.

“We have learned about the benefits of Looking for Local over the past two years, how it helps local jobs, our communities, but we have also learned about the breadth of world class products, services and experiences available in all our communities.

“As society and the economy continues to open up, it will be important for consumers to continue to Look for Local and remember those small businesses they supported and the benefits that it brings to everyone in towns and villages across the country.”

Robert Troy, T.D., Minister of State with responsibility for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation; “Local businesses are part of the fabric of our communities, supporting sport teams and community events as well as supporting local jobs and economy.

“Over the past two years, many businesses have embraced the online space, transforming how they operate and trade with the support of the Local Enterprise network. Looking for local goods and services has never been easier.

“While it’s fantastic to see the support local businesses got at Christmas we want that to continue and we want to support businesses to ensure supporting local business is the easy and logical decision.”

Padraic McElwee, chair of the network of Local Enterprise Offices, said; “The Look for Local campaign helped to support hugely positive sentiment around buying local that has come out of the pandemic.

“Now that we are moving into a new phase and the country is returning to a level of normality it’s extremely encouraging to see that people want to continue to support their local businesses, local jobs and their local economy.

Mark Christal, Divisional Manager, Regions and Entrepreneurship, Enterprise Ireland said, “These are really positive results for the ‘Look for Local’ campaign. It is heartening that, in addition to the obvious local economic benefits, people also recognised the beneficial environmental and community impacts of purchasing local services or products.”

On behalf of the local government sector, Ann Marie Farrelly, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council and Chair of the CCMA Business, Enterprise and Innovation Committee said; It is very encouraging to see that supporting local has been a key concern for consumers during Covid, and they intend to continue to support local into the future.”

For more information on Look for Local go to www.LocalEnterprise.ie/LookForLocal and follow the conversation online using #LookForLocal

Reporting: Irish Tech News