‘Shop local’ in the limelight
A swell of support for New Zealand-made products has at least one Manawatu¯ small enterprise reaping the benefits, but it remains to be seen if the consumer movement can be maintained as trading restrictions loosen.
Palmerston North teenager Ruby Mainwaring experienced a spike in demand for her Getagrip jar opener after it was promoted by a Facebook group called New Zealand Made Products.
More than 425,000 people have joined the group, which posts promotional information on Kiwimade goods and services.
Mainwaring’s sales increased by 60 per cent in the first few days following the post, with four times as many people visiting her website.
The 13-year-old, whose jar opener was launched in 2018 after it won accolades at the Manawatu¯ Science and Technology fair and a regional entrepreneurs’ contest, typically sold her products at events and markets.
Being exposed to a large audience of people actively trying to support local businesses sparked ‘‘well over 100’’ sales in the time she would usually sell fewer than 10 jar openers.
‘‘There are so many great people on there doing amazing things that we wouldn’t have been able to find so easily without the page,’’ she said.
Manawatu¯ Chamber of Commerce chief executive Amanda Linsley was pleased Kiwis were getting behind the buy-local movement, as businesses found new ways to promote themselves.
The chamber last week took part in the launch of the Choose Manawatu¯ campaign.
Businesses unable to open under level 3 had been working hard to find new revenue streams, she said, especially smaller businesses that typically operated at markets.
However, Linsley was unsure if the commitment to buy locally would hold as New Zealand phased into level 2, level 1, and then back to normality.
‘‘I’d like to think that people will stay and maybe open their eyes to the things that are in front of them. I hope there are going to be some key earnings for this, rather than this fast consumerism from overseas.’’
Brittany Stephenson of online clothing store Lawless Boutique said her advertisement was promoted by the New Zealand Made Products group on Monday after she submitted a post about a week ago.
She said her Dannevirke-based clothing line hadn’t enjoyed the surge in interest that others had experienced, but there was an increase in traffic to her website.
Her line could be viewed by as few as 10 people on a bad day and up to 300 people during a promotion.
After the group’s post, there were 250 views. She felt it had sparked some attention, but didn’t think it would translate into significantly more sales.
‘‘For sure, it’s a good little page, but I think people are more after homemade goods.’’
The page’s posts had gained significant traction early on, but now it was saturated by so many businesses trying to get their names in front of potential customers that the impact had been dulled, she said.