It's been a challenging year for Australians, but if we were to pick a silver lining, it would be the trend towards shopping local. Where in the past we wouldn't think twice about ordering all we need online from foreign companies, increasingly, people are looking to keep dollars in their communities. So should you shop locally this holiday season?
Why shop local?
Where you spend your money makes a difference. In tourism there is the concept of "leakage": the percentage of money that "leaks" out of the community when tourists visit. You can spend your money on a cruise, but typically, the vast majority of it isn't going to local communities. It's going to the owners of the cruise company - often, US companies. If you want to make an impact locally, these are the sort of things to look out for.
The concept is similar when shopping in your day-to-day life. If you spend your money online with larger companies, then less money is going to smaller producers and businesses. You don't get a thriving High St in town by spending all your money on Amazon - you get that by locals committing to local business.
Why now?
The pandemic has exposed the positives and negatives of global trade. Australia, like many other countries, has been forced to reassess what we want to produce here as opposed to importing. What industries do we want to flourish? What are our priorities?
In a similar way, as local businesses have had a nightmare of a year, many of us have assessed how we spend our money, and where. If we value that local cafe, we will need to support it.
What is happening locally?
State governments have launched local tourism and retail campaigns aimed at keeping dollars local. Whether it's the Click for Vic initiative or Queensland's Go Local, Grow Local, government are promoting local business. Small business has never been so visible.
Thank you
Wild Fire Wines and our sister company, Taste Yarra Valley in Warburton, are extremely grateful for the support we have received in 2020. The power of community is an incredible thing, and we look forward to serving you in 2021 and beyond. Without people supporting small business, there would not be small business.If you can, please consider keeping your dollars in the community this holiday season.
If you'd like to continue to support us (we won't say no!) you can view the Wild Fire Wine range, or visit us in Warburton, Victoria at Taste Yarra Valley.