Go Local! Facebook page set up to help boost Rotorua economy

As the Covid-19 lockdown eases and we move through the different alert levels, things change quickly, particularly in the business world.

Fortunately, a Rotorua woman has come up with a way for local businesses to let consumers know how and when they are operating.

Community advocate Claire Mahon established the Support Local, Shop Local, Spend Local Facebook page - a one stop shop for business owners to communicate with the public. Earlier in the isolation period she also created the Rotorua Caremongering Facebook group where people have connected wanting to share ideas, check-in on neighbours and brainstorm ways to help each other.

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The Support Local page now has more than 1600 followers.

"When were moving into level three and level four, we could see there would be small businesses being closed all around town so I thought about how we could help people in our community. I thought of providing a platform where our local businesses could show people what they're doing and how they're operating.

"Small businesses have been really innovative about how they can help people during this time so we wanted to put that out there and start promoting it."

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Mahon said there was definitely a desire in the community to rally around and support the businesses.

"The response has been fantastic. When we first set the page up we had hundreds of businesses contacting us and wanting to be promoted. Now that we're starting to see a change on the horizon again it's just become more popular and even more people are signing up.

Community advocate Claire Mahon set up a Facebook page for businesses to let people know how and when they are operating. Photo / File

"It's a fantastic local response and it's been really heartwarming to see community say 'how can we get together and help our local businesses?'. We've been careful to make sure it's not just businesses too, we have local charities and artists on there as well, everyone affected by this."

She said Rotorua's businesses were a crucial part of the community in more ways than just economically.

"The ones that are surviving and serving customers and doing okay are the ones that are engaging in the community and telling their story. A lot of what our businesses bring us is that connection to other people - the ability to show our love and connection to other people through the things that we purchase."

Living Colour Florist owner Nina Healey has been reassured by the support of local consumers. Photo / Andrew Warner

Rotorua florist Living Colour Flowers and Gifts is currently operating and taking orders online, which they shared on the Support Local Facebook page. Owner Nina Healey said it was encouraging to see people eager to go local, particularly in the lead up to Mother's Day.

"It's really, really good. I think before people would go online and just order something rather than looking at where the actual website was situated and whether they were a real business in a real town. We're getting a lot more people, when they phone up, wanting to know if we are in Rotorua. People are really taking it seriously and trying to support local businesses.

"We've come together with a lot of other businesses to make sure everyone is aware we're back at work and trying to get going again. The businesses are supporting each other as well by giving each other shout outs."

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

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