Research has shown that, for every euro spent on goods which are locally sourced, up to four euro of additional wealth is generated in the community.

That’s why – with Christmas now on our doorstep – the umbrella body for small businesses is making a final plea to consumers to Think Local and support their local communities and help keep Ireland’s main streets active and vibrant.

Because with just a few more shopping days to go, ISME says that even a small effort by shoppers will make a big difference.

Local shopping for locally produced goods and services returns multiples of the spend to the community and helps local businesses maintain jobs in Irish towns and villages.

ISME is not asking customers to confine all their festive shopping to local businesses but IS asking that they ensure that they devote a proportion of their Christmas shopping to local bricks-and-mortar or ‘Irish’ online stores.

“Ireland is a small, open economy, so a lot of our spending as consumers is on imported goods. This limits the “multiplier” flow of wealth around the community,” said Neil McDonnell, Chief Executive at ISME.

“However, if we try to ensure at least a proportion of our purchases are locally sourced, each euro we spend can produce two, three or four euro of additional wealth in the community.

“We can all make a difference for local retailers and hospitality providers this Christmas through our spending decisions. We can save time, money, effort, and the environment by devoting at least a portion of our festive spend to local businesses this Christmas.”

To help people make local choices this Christmas, ISME has created two online portals – one for consumers and one for businesses.

Consumers can browse a variety of categories such as activities and entertainment, fashion, food and drink, retail, and Irish breaks which offers gift ideas for Christmas and showcases local businesses.

For businesses, they can access a directory of B2B products and services such as corporate gifts, legal and financial services, IT and marketing, transport, training and more.

Pictured: Shop local…Neil McDonnell, Chief Executive at ISME.