Dublin Chamber Urges Shoppers to Support Local Snow-Hit Businesses

Business group Dublin Chamber is calling on Irish consumers to make an extra effort to support local shops and businesses over the coming week. The Chamber issued the call following major disruption to trade over the past seven days, which saw many retailers and small businesses forced to shut their doors for several days.

According to Dublin Chamber’s Head of Public Affairs Graeme McQueen: “The heavy snowfall and weather warnings have had a major impact on the business community over the past week. Many businesses have had their doors closed since Wednesday. To help these businesses get back on their feet as quickly as possible, we’re calling on Irish consumers to make an extra effort over the coming days to support any firms that they know to have been closed or impacted by the extreme weather. Whether it’s buying a cup of coffee or a sandwich, that extra bit of business could make a big difference for snow-hit firms. If you were planning on buying something online from a website abroad, perhaps rethink that purchase and see if you can instead make it via an Irish company.”

Dublin Chamber said that many firms are still counting the cost of the weather disruption and cautioned that it will likely be later in the week before some companies get back to normal.

Mr McQueen said: “The important thing is that businesses are able to get back up to full speed as soon as possible. Monday will mark the first day that some companies have been able to open. For others it will be later in the week before they are able to open. We’d also encourage consumers to show patience with businesses over the coming weeks as they get up-and-running once again. Some firms perhaps won’t have had deliveries or been able to full re-stock over the past few days, so 100% of product lines may not be available until later in the week.”