Tipperary shoppers urged to keep it local and keep it steady to avoid surge

Tipperary shoppers have been urged to shop local and to avoid a surge in heading to the shops as the county reopens this week following a six-week lockdown of non-essential businesses.

With retail, hairdressers, gyms and other businesses hoping to save some sort of Christmas trade this year, there was a feeling among businesses owners in the Premier County this Tuesday that people were being more cautious this time round, unlike the end of the first Covid-19 lockdown that ended in the summer.

However, most operators said that the biggest challenge they faced now was competing with online shopping.

“It will take time for people to come out of click and collect and buying online, but we need people to shop local and local is not Clonmel or in Limerick,” said Martin Grey of Templemore Traders Association.

While trade in the town was slow this Tuesday, Mr Grey said people were being more cautious and there was the “hangover from a Black Friday weekend”.

“Hopefully, people will come back into Templemore in the next couple of days,” he said.

Mr Grey was concerned that the reopening would simply mean people would go to the cities, saying: “We are slowly being consumed by bigger towns.”

Martin Lynch, president of Cashel Chamber of Commerce described trade in the town as “brisk but not mental”.

He said business was busier than expected for a Tuesday and he expected it to be a lot busier later on.

Amid fears that any upsurge in shopping could lead to another lockdown in January, Mr Lynch said retailers were hoping for a steady trade rather than a mad surge.

Before lockdown, the chamber had a local voucher scheme to encourage shopping in the town, and Mr Lynch said that a new scheme was being introduced, starting on December 8 and running until December 20.

Based around the 12 days of Christmas, the initiative will see a superdraw each evening for two vouchers that people can spend in any shop in the town. All they have to do is upload their receipt on to the chamber’s website to be in with a chance to win.

Over in Roscrea, John Lupton of the town’s development association, said they were also focused on shopping local and tackling online shopping.

“We need to support each other more than before. People have been through a dreadful few months and a lot of businesses may not open in the next year,” he said.

Mr Lupton said that shops did not expect to have the same bumper Christmas trade as in previous years due to reduced floor space, but he said it would be better to see a steady increase in trade over the next few weeks rather than a surge which could lead to a January lockdown.

With the enhancement works being completed this week on the town’s Rosemary Square, he said the aim would be to bring more footfall into Roscrea.

Meanwhile Shona Tooher of DV8 in Nenagh described the reopening as “brilliant” and they were “very excited about the buzz around the town”.

They had opened their doors at 8am and had a steady stream of customers and will remain open until 9pm to avoid crowding in the store and allow people to shop after work rather than rushing out to shop at lunchtime.

In Thurles, despite the major redevelopment work ongoing in Liberty Square, there was a marked increase in footfall and traders are hoping that this will continue for the next few weeks as shoppers pick up their Christmas gifts.

Frances Boyle, of Boyle's Liberty Square told The Tipperary Star: “There has been tremendous goodwill out there for us and people just opened the door as they passed by and wished us well with the reopening.

“We had been doing click and collect because we had to move forward with the times but there is nothing like meeting the customers face to face and we are thrilled to have them back. The new car park off Liberty Square and Slievenamon Road is a huge help too and people just need to use it now."