Derry businesses urge people to shop local this Christmas
'Big operators like Amazon can be handy but your small spend makes a giant difference'
The final weeks before Christmas are said to be the most important and profitable time of the year for businesses, with a lot of them relying on the month to keep them afloat.
After 21 months of lockdowns and closures causing havoc amongst retail, your decision to ‘shop local’ this festive season could help your favourite local business to continue trading in the future.
Owner of Ferry Clever, Christopher Ferry, said he believed it was more important than ever to shop local this Christmas.
“Everything was in lockdown and a lot of small local businesses really got affected by that. I think this is probably the most important year ever regarding supporting local because a lot of businesses really struggled to get back on their feet after being closed for so long.
“I think that people realise that, and they are really going all out this year to support local. A small business like myself doesn’t take it for granted, I really appreciate it and I would just really push to support local this year especially. Big operators like Amazon can be handy but your small spend makes a giant difference.”
Ben Allen, owner of local record store ‘Abbazappa,’ spoke of the benefits of choosing to shop local.
“I know my customers. I know them by name, they know me.
Ben Allen, proprietor of Abbazappa.
“The greatest thing on earth is being able to look through the products in the likes of a record shop or book shop physically. It’s a pleasure to do that. You can pick it up and see if the products okay before buying it. You can’t do that online, it’s a bit of a lucky dip.”
Sinn Féin Foyle MLA, Pádraig Delargy, also urged the people of Derry to support local businesses this year.
“On the back of the voucher scheme, we’re encouraging everybody to spend their £100 in local businesses as it’s been such a tough couple of months for them. Anything that can be done to make sure these businesses get back on their feet, we need to do it and make sure we can support our local high street shops.”
The new Ferry Clever store can be found at 17-21 Bishops Street, and Abbazappa Records can be found at the Yellow Yard on Palace Street.