The Kiama & District Business Chamber has started a social media campaign to encourage more locals to support local businesses which have lost their customers from outside the area.

It is giving away $100 a week for the next five weeks for the best social media posts to support the cause. All you need to do is buy something from a local business, take a photo and post it on Instagram or Facebook, with the tags #kiamachamber #supportlocal and #(the name of the business).

One of the entries this week

The Chamber's annual Buy Local campaign will start later in the month.

The latest Spendmapp Monthly Report, for April 2021, shows how vulnerable the Kiama region's economy was to this lockdown, and how important it is for locals to change their habits and support local businesses during this downturn.

Spendmapp, which Council has a subscription to, analyses bank transaction data by time, geography, expenditure category and type to allow for continuous monitoring and analysis of local economic activity.

In April (the latest available figures), total local spend was $29 million, with $16.9 million (58%) of this coming from visitors and $12.2 million from people living here.

Of the total local spend of $29 million, 48% was discretionary spend (eg. dining out, entertainment, clothes - a tap that can be easily turned off); 43% was for consumer staples; and the rest was spent on services and other categories.

In contrast to that, locals also spent $44.2 million outside the Municipality during April ($18.5 million of this was online spending).

Businesses were enjoying somewhat of a boom on an annual comparison, as visitors returned after the lockdown in 2020. During that time, total local spend was half of its level in 2021, although resident local spend was only 16% lower.