Great support for Shop Local campaign

Businesses throughout Nenagh were pleased with amount of business they received from people throughout the Christmas period, with many business owners expressing their appreciation for their longstanding loyal customers who continue to shop local.

Although some business owners believed the Christmas trade period was slower to start this year, most business owners were still satisfied by the level of trade they experienced throughout the festive trade season.

Most business owners reported receiving the same level of trade that they would have received from their customers on previous years, but business owners noted that they were finding it increasingly difficult to manage their business against rising costs.

Change in Spending Habits

Some of the business owners in Nenagh noticed a significant change in consumers spending habits this year, noting that they believed it was due to the cost-of-living challenges that are facing many households throughout the country.

One business owner in particular noticed that while people were shopping in Nenagh and seemed to enjoy their experience, a lot of people were primarily shopping the sale section of stores, which again pointed to cost-of-living challenges facing many households.

This nervousness around money has meant that trade has been up and down from business owners throughout the year, with one business owner putting it simple saying “if customers are nervous, they don’t shop”.

Shop Local Campaigns

In the run up to the festive season, various campaigns, such as a Love Where You Live campaign and the Love Tipperary gift cards were run to encourage people to shop local during the festive season.

“The real focus was to try and get people to consider the town, to leave their business in the town and to shop locally over Christmas,” explained William Talbot, President of Nenagh Chamber of Commerce.

Business owners from Nenagh were very complimentary about the Love Where You Live campaign and the message it spread to the wider public about leaving their business locally.

Although most business owners from Nenagh were registered as recipients of the Love Tippery Gift Card schemes, most shop owners reported very few cards being presented in store over the Christmas period.

In total, over €250,000 worth of Love Tipperary gift cards were sold in the month of December. Some business owners expressed that these gift cards may be presented in store over the coming months, which would be of benefit to them throughout the quieter months.

Some shop owners noticed a significant drop in the sale of their own vouchers throughout the Christmas season; however, other businesses noticed no change.

Destination Town

As expressed by Mr Talbot, Nenagh is destination town for many shoppers both during the festive season and throughout the year.

“If you take what Nenagh has to offer, we have fantastic retailers, you can shop the streets of Nenagh in a short space of time and you can get everything you need, and you can drop in and have a coffee, meet people you know, there’s that element to it that you won’t get when you go to Dublin or you go to Limerick,” commented William Talbot.

“Nenagh is a very special town, it’s the interest that the retailers have in their own businesses, they are willing to invest money in their business premises and the products they offer. I think its streets ahead of many other regional towns in the country,” he continued.

Nenagh’s popularity amongst shoppers during the Christmas period was also noticed by local businesswoman, Deirdre Keller, who owns Solemates in Nenagh:

“We get a huge amount of support from outside Nenagh. We get a lot of Thurles, Cashel, Clonmel, Killaloe, Ballina, Limerick, huge outside support,” commented Deirdre Keller.

“People are very proud of Nenagh. People are very proud to that they are from Nenagh too. I think where possible, people do their best to keep it local,

“We need to do all we can to keep Nenagh alive and to keep promoting it,” she concluded.