So, by now all of us are starting to come to terms with social distancing, and “lockdown has become a part of our everyday vernacular. We read news about the human impact of the disease and how our healthcare workers are doing excellent work. But when lockdown finally gets lifted, how are things going to look? The economy is being decimated and job losses are going to be huge. It is the local/ regional independent companies that would have felt the pinch the most, since these businesses pretty much operate on a month to month basis-what they earn in revenue this month is used to pay costs for the month, and as such 2 or 3 months of not earning any revenue can be catastrophic.

We at Expat Parents have always espoused the need to support local business, from local goods and services to local gyms, local events and beauty spots. By local we mean independent businesses that are in Switzerland (although Swiss chain stores would also make sense as well). These can be local restaurants, coffee shops, farms, retail outlets etc. It may even be spending holidays in Switzerland. When you buy local, the money stays in the community and effectively creates wealth in the community. This additional demand can help boost employment, which in turn increases tax revenue in the region.

Produce at your local independent shops also may be a little pricier than a the global megastore. But putting price aside for a moment, we could argue that the quality of produce is going to be better from a local grocer or deli since the produce often come from local farms, there is greater traceability between the farm and the final product. It may mean that produce is always seasonal and not imported. Your local coffee shop may even be cosier than the Starbucks.

However, money is going to be tight for everybody and we are all going to be price sensitive for a while. It is going to take a conscious effort to make small adjustments to our shopping trends. It may be something as small as reallocating some of your usual spending to a small business near you. For instance, you may do the bulk of your weekly shop at Migros/Coop, but you make sure that you buy fruit and veg from your local farm. You may choose to designate a % of your monthly shopping budget to local stores. But these need to be conscious, habitual changes that we make so that it soon becomes ingrained in our psyche. Just as we have all learned how to wash our hands and/ sanitise after contact with anything outside of our homes this behaviour will become the norm even after all this blows over, we can expect the buying local behaviour to do the same.