What do we notice?
People are reevaluating their purchase decisions in light of the corona crisis. Global access gave birth to mindless consumerism. People used to search for items to buy across the globe. But in times of crisis, a purchase decision can become a civic action that serves the common good.
In Belgium, the CEO’s of several companies have written an open letter to stress the importance of buying local instead of buying from global players like Zalando and Amazon. As a response, people are shifting their buying behaviour, making conscious choices to buy from local businesses and brands instead of these global entities.
With an unstable economic situation, people evaluate the impact of every purchase. Is it local? Does it contribute to a community? Is it sustainable? The driving force behind every purchase has become its potential to drive positive change.
Companies, both big and small, governments and organisations have launched initiatives to support local businesses and facilitating local e-commerce.
KBC & #kooplokaal
KBC encouraged its 14 000 employees to become ambassadors of their favourite local brands. How? By sharing it on Instagram. All they had to do was fill in a pre-designed template, tag their favourite local store, restaurant, brand, online shop ... share it in their stories and nominate their friends to do the same.
Case spotter:
Spotify & Covid-19 Music Relief
As part of their ‘COVID-19 Music Relief' program, Spotify developed a new tool that enables artists to fundraise directly from fans. Artists can ‘drive listeners to a fundraising destination of their choice’. From their profiles, they will be able to ‘link out to a verified funding page for themselves, for another artist in need, or for a separate initiative of their choice’.
Case spotter:
eBay Canada & Up and Running
eBay Canada is launching "Up & Running," an accelerator program specifically designed to support retailers without an e-commerce presence transition to selling online. The initiative will also help existing online businesses to create a channel to reach millions of customers. In addition to onboarding resources and tools, eBay Canada is waiving selling fees and offering a free basic store for a three-month period to assist businesses with cash flow as they navigate COVID-19.
Case spotter:
Telia & Free Advertising For Local Businesses
To help small businesses survive the coronavirus outbreak, Telia Finland is giving away its national advertising space. The goal is to help at least 100 companies during the first week of the campaign. The campaign features all kinds of local business and is made from content that is self-produced by entrepreneurs using remote tools.
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