A town that takes pride in itself has the upper hand in attracting shoppers

Happy New Year and may the road and the troika rise with you. We head into another difficult year (what's new?) and we can all wish that there is a tunnel at the end of the light, in a manner of speaking. If I had one wish for 2012 it is that all the economists in Ireland be locked in a dark room until they come up with a universal and credible solution to the country's problems. Given their past record, I wouldn't be optimistic about a favourable outcome. It might be a little like the weather forecast - "on the one hand with will have light economic breezes with some isolated drizzle, on the other hand we might have a wind that would smash the Beaufort Scale and we will have a right shower ascending on us from Brussels or wherever". From an Irish point of view, there is at least some good news to enjoy - that Irish towns and cities are fighting against the litter scourge, even though we are in the middle of a recession and resources are scarce. We woke up earlier this week to find that "one of our own" - Trim - has been named as Ireland's cleanest town in a survey of litter levels in 53 towns and cities. They fought off both Swords and Killarney for the top spot in the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) 2012 survey. It is the first time that Trim has won the litter league award, having been adjudged litter-free since 2005. An Taisce, which conducts the surveys, said all sites surveyed in Trim got the top litter grade. Trim town clerk Brian Murphy (who must be over the moon with his home town, Drogheda's, rating of fifth place, and even more chuffed that the Boynesiders' great rival, Dundalk, has been shoved into 21st place in the league) says that Trim's result was "fantastic" for the town and its people. There is a more serious aspect to the IBAL results and that is that discerning shoppers are attracted to towns which put their best foot forward in presentation. I visited Wexford for a couple of days over the holiday period and it was obvious that the retailers and people of the town there had made huge efforts in attracting local trade and offering a universally friendly welcome and service to customers. The Ireland of the Tiger years when shoppers were taken for granted and palmed off with the off-handed "there you go" and not a hint of a smile or greeting, seems to be on the way out. It is noticeable now that retailers have woken up to the fact that customers are people who are likely as not to take their business elsewhere if the greeting and service is out of place. I mention all this in the context that a recession will sort out the good and bad in any economy. Of course, there are factors that many businesses will not be able to cope with, among them the reality that there is less disposable income in the economy, and that spending on 'luxury' goods will be down. Don't think that we are the only ones in this position. For instance, in Britain, 183 retail chains went into administration last year, 10 per cent up on 2010 and others are starting to appear on the "critical list". One aspect of retailing in Ireland should draw our attention for a number of reasons. We learn that shopping over the internet is increasing. It has a lot to offer, including privacy, convenience, better prices, variety, comparison of prices and avoiding the crowds - but there is a downside. We are all being asked to shop local, to support the small businesses on our main streets, to the people who provide local employment. What happens if internet shopping continues to increase and the money flows out of towns into anonymous coffers elsewhere? All the IBAL awards in the world won't save a town if that happens. It's worth thinking about that and what it means for local communities.