You can shop local even when you are shopping online the business community is asking is you to please remember this and prioritise local business when you’re scrolling.

These sure are unimaginable times! Changes are happening at a pace faster than we can keep up with, and opportunities to move about and enjoy different experiences are restricted.

Of course this pace and level of restriction won’t last forever, but some of the changes we are experiencing will have become normal and established over that time.

With this in mind we should all applaud how swiftly local businesses have developed an online presence across multiple platforms. Retail and service businesses explored web-stores, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Tik Toc to sell their services, skills and products. For many businesses this was achieved at the height of the initial Covid-19 response, under restrictions and while adapting to new requirements and procedures almost every week.

Local businesses are the absolute backbone to our community. We no longer have to imagine the effect shops and businesses being closed day after day would have on our daily lives as a direct result of current restrictions – nothing has ever given such a stark indication of how our region may look like if small and medium businesses are not supported by the community.

Luckily for us in Dungarvan & West Waterford, many businesses have been able to stay trading behind the scenes and can still offer items and services, just by remote means.

Many businesses have adapted to offer ‘Click & Collect’, ‘Ring & Collect’ or delivery as a means to continue serving their customers, and people have been quick to adjust and take advantage of these new services. How we shop now is changing enormously, it can be from our couch or car on our phone. We can ring, or browse websites, Facebook and Instagram pages. Behaviours have changed and new habits are forming.

With this in mind the Dungarvan & West Waterford Chamber community of businesses are imploring you, to please, please shop local. You can shop online and still shop local. Let’s continue to support each other at this really difficult time and help local businesses and their employees look forward to a bright future.

The Dungarvan & West Waterford Chamber champions community resilience and recognizes that together we rise!

The Dungarvan & West Waterford Chamber supports over 280 businesses across a wide range of sectors. Based in the Dungarvan Enterprise Centre on Main Street, Tel 058 45054 and email info@dungarvanchamber.ie