The Rise of The Hyperlocal Economy
We look at how some of the pandemic-induced changes can actually have a positive effect on local businesses and communities.
THE NEW NORMAL
There are few things that can fundamentally change the way we go about our daily lives that have more impact than a government-imposed lockdown. The chaos of the initial first weeks of toilet paper/essentials hoarding brought into sharp focus our reliance on big supermarkets and delivery services like Amazon. As these everyday, run-of-the-mill purveyors began to feel overwhelmed, consumers looked closer to home. Their own highstreets and villages have much of the same offering and with a shift to working from home being almost mandatory, isn’t shopping near home a logical next step?
WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?
Besides supporting local business and helping your community thrive there’s many ways as a consumer you’ll feel the benefits of sticking close to home. Food is one of the best things to buy locally, it’s often fresher, has more variety or specialised options that supermarkets are unlikely to sell. Visiting local restaurants, you’ll be treated to seasonally tailored menus and better quality ingredients as food miles are reduced.
Take a brand close to our hearts, Maygrove. The Devon farm has used the lockdown time to develop their ‘nano dairy’ of three cows, Hazel, Nessa and Ruby. Tilly Lovegrove tells us about this new demand for the farm’s fresh milk. “Our neighbours and family who live away from the farm started taking some of our milk (as we had lots going spare). This was proving popular and through word of mouth we began getting a lot of interest in our milk. Not only because it was available with no queues, but because we only pasteurise it to make it safe to drink, so it’s as close to raw milk as it can be!”
Anyone who loves a splash of cream in their morning coffee will know it’s almost impossible to find unhomogenised milk in any supermarket, so this is very special indeed, like proper milk used to taste. “It’s rich in natural nutrients as we only pasteurise to eliminate harmful bugs and bacteria. We do not have our milk homogenized so you will get a rich layer of cream.”
Tilly has noted a cultural change towards food on the whole. With provenance becoming a deciding factor for customers when choosing where to shop for their weekly provisions.
“Consumers are generally becoming more and more aware of the produce they buy, where it came from and how. A lot of our customers love how close we are to our cows, how we very clearly love each cow and look after them to the highest standard. Those looking to support ethical farming to improve animal welfare are all shopping closer to the food’s origination. Farm shops and local produce are more sought after now, too.”
Meanwhile, at the Winterbourne Pub in Swindon things also got a little creative in the wake of a pandemic. Owner, Emie Hawkshaw tells us how things have changed almost overnight.
“Once we were told to close our doors, we changed our whole business to be purely a takeaway. In the meantime, we were constantly thinking about what to do once we could re-open.We then created The Winterbourne Coffee Shop running out of our conservatory. We’ve more sales than we did before from the pub.”
When asked if this trend will run its course or stick around, Emie had a bit of insight.
“We’ve diversified our business and the plan is that once schools re-open we can open earlier. I believe once more people are aware that we now have the coffee shop, trade will improve. It’s a small community of only 60 houses, however during lockdown we provided extra services like the community box (providing the basics fresh fruit vegetables flour, etc). Unfortunately, consumers like ease and the hectic lifestyles that had vanished during lockdown are steadily returning to normal.”
A LITTLE SHIFT
The Winterbourne and Maygrove are just two examples in this growing trend. Recent data from analysts Kantar shows that it’s small local shops and online retailers that have had a positive impact from the changes in shopper’s behaviour during lockdown. In the period of three months up until 17th May, the independently owned retailers surveyed saw their sales increase at a rate more than double than that of the fastest-growing grocery chain. Corner shops and independent groceries have reaped some serious gains too, experiencing a 63% rise in trade. Takeaway deliveries have seen a roaring trade too coming in a whopping 250% up year on year.
MAKING IT STICK
Jackie Mulligan founded digital platform ShopAppy.com. It connects customers to their local high street online. According to Mulligan, the key to making this change in consumer behaviour last is all about adapting to fit the needs of the now.
“You can close your shop but still trade. You can close your cafe but still offer something. The key is to make it easy for customers to support local.”
So local should be forever, not just for lockdown, we couldn’t agree more.