It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – so what does Christmas look like for Canberra businesses?

We are all managing rising costs, and that includes our local small businesses. The prices of supplies and other costs have spiralled this year, and small businesspeople and their families are facing the same cost-of-living pressures as the rest of us.

Staff shortages, along with Covid and other illnesses, have meant that this year small business owners have had to cover the gaps in staffing. For many, that means extremely long hours, seven days a week. The pressure is unrelenting and is taking its toll on the wellbeing of business owners and their families.

Local businesses are part of their communities and are focused on looking after loyal customers. They can’t afford deep, one-off discounts to attract customers, and in fact are doing everything they can to keep prices down for customers everyday as their own running costs soar.

So, I urge you, with only days left until Christmas, to think local and source your Christmas gifts and holiday supplies from local business this year.

The Covid pandemic, lockdowns and supply chain disruptions over the past two years dramatically changed the way we shop. We saw massive shifts to online shopping, and large global companies and national retailers ramped up their ability to transact online and get orders to customers.

This year, however, we’re urging ACT and region shoppers to think before you click – and buy local. Look for bargains in store or search out online deals from local retailers – I’ve seen some great promotions where local businesses are offering the chance of a prize for every purchase instead of an unsustainable discount. With restrictions easing and better weather here, why not gift one of the many new experiences on offer in the Territory and beyond.

With the cost of living rising rapidly, it’s natural to try and save a few dollars with an online bargain. But if you spend those dollars with a local business instead, you’ll help them in some very tough times and support our economy and local jobs.

There are now over 33,000 local businesses in the ACT, who currently employ over 60 per cent of working Canberrans; 97 per cent of these are small family-owned businesses that employ fewer than 20 people. They’re owned by locals who actively support their communities.  

We’ve all appreciated the way that local businesses looked after their customers and communities over the past few years. They’ve had to deal with restrictions and closures and workforce shortages that impacted their ability to trade and, in some cases, to even open. Plenty of these businesses are still doing it tough, and your support now can be a gift that makes a difference to a business, a family, and our region as whole.

– Graham Catt