Stores in plea to shop local

Galway retailers are hoping that new customs surcharges on online goods bought from the UK, coupled with a concerted push to shop locally, will throw them a Christmas lifeline – after Covid restrictions decimated footfall for so much of the year.

And around the county, scores of retailers have come together to try and create attractive packages to get customers to stay local for all of their festive shopping.

Clifden Chamber of Commerce is one umbrella group – pulling out all the stops to get people to spend their money in the Connemara capital.

And other initiatives, like Shop Ballinasloe – a local rival to major operators like One For All – is also keeping retail traffic in the town.

Clifden Chamber has 300 local businesses signed up to its ‘Shop Local and Support Connemara’ campaign this Christmas. All are listed on its website, with 5,000 flyers being distributed in conjunction with a major advertising press, social and radio campaign to get customers to splurge the cash with local employers.

There’s also a €500 voucher to win for one lucky customer just before Christmas day.

“We want to drive home the message to keep jobs in Connemara. We hope that people will focus on doing their shopping here rather than driving to Galway or Dublin where they will be stuck in traffic,” urged chamber president John Sweeney.

“This is a concerted effort to get people to support businesses here. It’s been a difficult year, especially the first half of they year, so we need people to come out and get behind us.”

The chamber raised €4,000 on an online fundraising platform to help offset the cost of erecting the Christmas lights, which members have in the past funded to the tune of €10,000 annually.

Clifden has seen several new businesses open up this year, including gift shops, cafes and boutiques. They are benefiting from the influx of visitors drawn to the Wild Atlantic Way, which has resulted in a real buzz in the town this summer.

“Clifden always has that pep in her step. There’s this great entrepreneurial spirit here. We’ve long drawn the artisan type businesses here which helps create a special atmosphere.”

With the Ballinasloe Enterprise Centre in Ballinasloe completely full, with 29 small businesses operating and more on a waiting list, the Ballinasloe Area Development Ltd has purchased the old bank chambers on Society Street to house a second branch, with a waiting list already in place for space there.

Renovations on the 6,000 sq ft development are expected to begin early in the New Year and be open for around a dozen businesses by the end of 2022 thanks to grant funding of around half a million euro, revealed company manager Lynn Donnelly.

This is all good news for retailers and hospitality trade in the town, two sectors which have endured a horrendous few years due to the pandemic and the ‘big dig’ which lasted nearly two years before that.

“This should help drive footfall as more people are doing this hybrid working and the kitchen table just won’t cut it anymore. Space is at a real premium in Ballinasloe. We have been full for over a year but demand is only going in one direction,” explained Lynn.

Joe Glennon is co-founder of the Shop Ballinasloe initiative, a scheme launched last year offering full proceeds to local businesses instead of having to pay 15 per cent commission to the likes of One For All.

The 80 businesses which have signed up can sell their wares online or customers can buy vouchers which can be spent in shops, pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, pharmacies and supermarkets.

Set up with the help of a grant from Galway County Council and €9,000 from the National Digital Awards, it ensures that all money stays local.

Sales of the vouchers have picked up in the last fortnight and are likely to exceed €100,000 for this its second Christmas.

“We set it up after the lockdown as a response to Covid when the shops were closed and then started the vouchers last November. We have found that businesses are buying the vouchers in bulk as bonuses for their staff.

“Last year there was no charge for businesses but this year we are charging €199 in total for the year and they are happy to pay as they are reaping the rewards.”

Ballinasloe retailers are hopeful there will be an upswing in spending from this week, reports Lynn.

“My reading of it is that retail is going okay – they’re not jumping up and down about it but given the circumstances they are fairly positive about the way things are going, especially in the last week or two.

“There is a great deal of positivity about the enhancement scheme. The town is looking amazing, and people are surprised to see the results of the facelift. All the shop fronts got done up, the footpaths were done and there is new seating.”

“We’re really trying to hammer home the message that by buying local, not only will you not be hit with customs charges as a result of Brexit, you get better quality service and the after service is excellent if you have to bring something back because trying to send goods back can be a nightmare,” she stresses.

“If it’s one thing Covid has taught us it’s the value of local shops. It’s been bandied about for years but I think the message has finally been understood. If they’re not supported, there will be no shops in the town.”