With €4.8 billion expected to be spent during the festive period, buying nearby will ensure consumers will not be hit with extra taxes and costs that accrue from shopping on web stores based in non-EU countries

Digital Business Ireland (DBI), the country’s leading representative body for digital, ecommerce and online businesses, has today urged consumers to pay attention to where a retailer is based when shopping online for Christmas gifts, as some shoppers have reportedly been saddled with hundreds of euros in import duties and taxes. The Association is urging consumers to avoid unnecessary extra costs incurred by purchasing from non-EU countries and is appealing to them to support businesses and jobs in Ireland by making a conscious effort to Click Green and Buy Nearby this festive season.

Digital Business Ireland (DBI) has today launched their annual Click Green, Buy Nearby campaign. The initiative aims to drive awareness of the importance of supporting businesses in Ireland.

Consumers across the country experienced the benefits and convenience of online shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic, and with a new wave of restrictions, many will now look to continue that trend over the festive season. According to findings in a Tipping Point Report compiled by .IE and Digital Business Ireland, 47% of all online spend during the Covid-19 pandemic was fulfilled by businesses operating outside of Ireland with the remaining 53% of consumer spend benefitting Irish SMEs. 67% of those buying from SMEs said they did so out of a sense of solidarity.
In addition, recent figures suggest that every €10 that is spent on Irish products generates more than €40 of benefit to the local community, in terms of employment. While some consumers may be tempted by the lure of big brands, the money spent on goods and services is very much an investment, helping to build resilient regional economies throughout the country.

Speaking today, Secretary General of Digital Business Ireland, Lorraine Higgins explained: “The core objective of our Click Green Buy Nearby campaign is to encourage shoppers to make a concerted effort to purchase goods from local retailers online, in order to help prop up businesses on the back of an incredibly difficult 18 months.
We know that the vast majority of online shoppers want to support Irish businesses so leveraging this sense of patriotism to protect them from extra taxes is good for the economy too. Over the course of the pandemic, Irish businesses have made extraordinary efforts to elevate their e-commerce offerings and improve the functionality of their websites while maintaining the same high standards in customer care and safety.

At Digital Business Ireland, we are committed to recognising these efforts, and this campaign aims to drive awareness of the many ways that consumers can support local businesses, jobs and communities by purchasing their goods and services from .IE websites. This is now the second iteration of the Click Green Buy Nearby campaign and given the success of last year’s initiative, we are confident that consumers will get behind Irish businesses, and help to build resilient local economies”.

CEO of humm (Ire & UK) PJ Byrne said “When it comes to buying local online, every single euro counts. Consumers throughout the country have been incredibly supportive of Irish businesses over the last two years, and the Click Green Buy Nearby campaign aims to harness that same generosity while helping to champion local retailers.
Throughout the pandemic, Irish businesses were at the forefront of innovation – adapting their business models, creating new products and working hard to maintain those vital links with customers through selling online. By ‘Clicking Green’, consumers are helping to harvest long lasting prosperity in their local communities. We know that businesses are ready, and we know that consumers are enthusiastic – the opportunity is there, but we need to seize it. It’s all about making a conscious purchasing choice this festive season”.