We must do all we can to support local businesses in 2010

After an annus horribilis for the retail trade in 2009, those still in business will be happy just to have made it to Christmas but will be looking forward to 2010 with a mixture of trepidation and hope. The grocery trade, in particular, is gearing up for a major price war in the new year to try and not only retain but win back market share and staunch the haemorrhage of shoppers going North to spend their euros. A survey conducted by this newspaper just before Christmas gave an indication of just how many local consumers were travelling north of the border in the run-up to the festive season. On one Saturday alone, almost 300 Meath-registered cars were parked outside two major shopping outlets in Newry and Enniskillen. Another national survey conducted by TNS in early December showed Northern shops claimed 4.4 per cent of the grocery market in the Republic - though this was before the budget when excise duty on alcohol was reduced and the VAT rate was reduced to 21 per cent once again. Sales of groceries south of the border fell about 7.5 per cent in the months to November. These figures certainly should set alarm bells ringing. In a serious economic downturn like this country has experienced in the past two years, shoppers cannot be blamed for trying to make their limited cash stretch further and looking for bargains wherever they can get them. Loyalty, in many cases, has become a thing of the past for those struggling to get by and consumers' willingness to shop around is at an all-time high, according to Retail Excellence Ireland. However, there are signs that give some reason for optimism. A last-minute shopping surge last week provided a boost for Meath businesses who reported a relatively healthy festive season, but a reduced spend by shoppers. Navan traders, in particular, were more upbeat than their counterparts in other local towns despite the fact that many experienced a fall-off in business this year, although many said the decrease wasn't as bad as they had feared. There are also some signs that consumers are contributing to a relatively healthy post-Christmas sales boost with large numbers out and about and looking to pick up bargains in local towns. The chill winds of recession have been unkind to most businesses in the past 18 months or so, but particularly the retail trade which depends on local customers to survive. There was merit in the suggestion just before Christmas by Meath County Council chairman, Bill Carey, that if consumers were planning to do some of their shopping in Northern Ireland that they would at least keep a proportion of their cash to spend locally - that way, local businesses stand to benefit in some way. As communities which depend on each other to survive, it is enormously important for the survival of our towns and villages that we continue to be loyal to local shops and outlets who provide a service all year round and who also provide local employment. On the other hand, there is also an onus on local businesses to ensure that their prices are as competitive as they can be to act as a counterweight to the large numbers lured away to city shopping centres or north of the border. Real efforts have to be made at national, regional and local level to keep businesses in our towns and villages. The jobs that have been lost are not simply statistics - they represent the livelihoods of real people with real families to support, and while business and community leaders also have a major role to play, we all have a collective responsibility to do all we can to protect those jobs as we face into what is likely to be another challenging year.