5 Ways you can Support Local Businesses

Since the pandemic hit, times have been tough for many small businesses across the country as countermeasures such as lockdowns and social distancing have been put into effect. They’ve seen big downturns in profit as customers have not been able to shop with them, with many struggling to survive during the pandemic. It’s time to show your local businesses some love, so here are 5 ways you can do just that:

Shop locally online or in person

Starting with perhaps the most obvious way to support your local businesses, choosing to shop at your local businesses rather than the usual large franchises is one of the best ways to support them. Instead of buying meat from the supermarket, buy it from your local butchers instead or if you want to go out for a meal, go to your local restaurant instead of a big franchise. By changing where you shop, you can help keep your local shops afloat and thus support your community in a time of need. If their physical stores aren’t open, then check to see if you can order from them online so that you are still able to support them.

Help Spread the Word

If you can’t support them by buying from them, then support them digitally. Follow their social media accounts and like, comment on and share their posts as this will help them promote themselves and gain new customers when the need them the most. It’s also a free and easy way to do your part in supporting your local community and will go a long way in helping your local businesses survive. If they host some fun events like virtual quizzes, it would also help them out if you participated in these and shared the event with others as any way you can help them promote themselves.

Buy a Gift Card

Gift cards are a great way of supporting your local businesses if they offer them. Even if you don’t need to buy anything from them right away, a gift card means you can support them now by giving them that injection of cash and then you can use the card in the future. This is a great way of being able to support your local businesses even if you don’t need anything from them right away. Alternatively, you can give the gift card to a friend or family member for them to treat themselves at a local business.

Order a Takeaway

With restaurants and fast food shops having to close their physical doors, they’ve had to open their online doors if they didn’t already do deliveries. Any restaurants that didn’t previously deliver have been forced to do so now by the pandemic to survive. If your wallet allows it, consider ordering a takeaway from your local restaurants from time to time to support them during this difficult time. Many independent food and drink businesses have taken to delivery services such as Uber Eats and Deliveroo to get the food to their customers, providing a convenient way for you to order from them. Some third-party delivery companies do charge businesses a fee however which can add to their financial strain, so if possible, order from the business directly either by phone or their website.

Add in a Tip

Further to ordering a takeaway, consider giving them a tip if you don’t normally, or a larger tip if you do normally tip them. These extra funds, however small, will go a long way in helping the business and all of its employees who still have to work during the pandemic that might have unpredictable incomes. That extra cash, along with other people’s tips, might just make the difference between a business going bust, or surviving this pandemic.

If possible, tip over the phone or via their website when you order to avoid physical contact upon delivery to help reduce the spread of the virus.

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_{The Growth Company is an award-winning, not-for-profit social enterprise with a mission to enable growth, create jobs and improve lives. We provide individuals and businesses with a wide range of services that improve employment, skills, investment and enterprise for the benefit of all, and have been working in the Greater Manchester city region for more than 30 years.} 

_{This project receives funding from the European Social Fund as part of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme in England.}  

_{The Department for Work and Pensions is the Managing Authority for the England European Social Fund programme.}  

_{Established by the European Union, the European Social Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support skills development, employment and job creation, social inclusion and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.}