Chambers launch buy local campaign

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This article was published 07/12/2021 (1115 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Buy, boast and bring friends — that’s the way to support local this holiday season, if you’re to follow the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce’s latest initiative.

Many neighbourly businesses aren’t seeing the frenzy of shoppers they did last year.

“It was a tsunami,” Mona Corrigal, owner of Prairie City Soap, said of the 2020 purchasing wave to hit her company.

Most of her sales were online. People would search for soap makers, and Corrigal’s wares would appear, she said.

“We have, what I would consider, normal sales on the website now as opposed to hardly being able to keep up,” Corrigal said.

The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce is asking folks to buy Manitoba-made goods and share pictures of their purchases on social media. Writing #BuyLocalMB in the caption and tagging three friends results in an entry to win a $100 Visa prepaid gift card. Someone will win each week until Dec. 27.

“It’s easy to do Amazon,” said Chuck Davidson, president and CEO of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce. “What we’re really trying to do is change the mindset of people in terms of the importance of supporting local.”

When shoppers spend $100 at a local business, $68 stays in the community, according to Community Futures.

It’s not that Manitobans have abandoned small businesses. Some sectors, like restaurants, are reporting their best months since the pandemic began, Davidson said.

“What we’re also seeing is that, when people go out, they’re more apt to increase tips, they recognize this isn’t something they’ve had the ability to do for quite some time, and they understand the challenges that businesses have gone through,” Davidson said.

Many entrepreneurs are tackling increased debt and reduced staff due to months of COVID-19 restrictions.

Kari England has seen a boost in people shopping at Toad Hall Toys since the pandemic. It hasn’t stopped, the owner said.

“We’re seeing an awful lot of faces we hadn’t seen before, and they have been vocal about, ‘We ordered online from you last year, and this year we really wanted to see the inside of the store,’” she said.

Most of her seven employees have been with her for over a decade. The crew “upped their game” online to compete with bigger retailers.

Spreading the word via social media is a great way to raise awareness about a brand, England said.

“Whether it pops up on your Facebook or Instagram… You take what your friends show you and give it more weight,” she said.

Local chambers of commerce within the provincial entity’s network are taking measures to promote small businesses, Davidson said.

Winnipeg’s chamber is featuring companies online this December through its “10 Days of Local” campaign.

Other organizations, like GoodLocal, continue to publicize Manitoba makers. GoodLocal opened its first shop, at 223 McDermot Ave., on Black Friday with 60 brands on site. It’s offering a courier service to small companies for a minimum $6 per trip to make shopping local more accessible, according to co-founder Obby Khan.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com