‘We like to support small Australian businesses, but only when it’s convenient’.

For quite some time now Australians have been on a mission to show their support for our nation’s small businesses, from buying clothing, homewares and giftware to trades, services and more.

Our passion and love for small Australian-made and owned businesses is reflected in a recent survey of Hunter and Bligh members which reveals that close to nine in 10 (89.9 per cent) of us sometimes choose a small business over a larger one and more than six in 10 (61.4 per cent) will go out of our way to buy from a small business.

Around half (48.8 per cent) of us are willing to wait longer to receive our purchase when we buy something from a small business, around four in 10 (39.6 per cent) are willing to spend more time researching a purchase online before buying, and a similar proportion (39.2 per cent) are even willing to pay a bit more.

However, the survey revealed that most of us still want value for money, with more than two-thirds (67.4 per cent) of Australians admitting that they will only purchase goods from a small business if it offers them the best deal. And eight in 10 (80.1 per cent) say they’ll buy from a small business if it’s convenient.

74.9 per cent of Australians say that it is important to support small business at any cost.

Expensive or economical? Almost two-thirds (65.6 per cent) of us believe that small businesses cater to more of our wants and needs, and three-quarters (74.9 per cent) believe that it is important to support small businesses at any cost.

After experiencing lockdowns and permanent business closures, Victorians have taken the lead in support of our small businesses – with more than four in 10 (42.5 per cent) of the Hunter and Bligh’s Victorian members acknowledging that they think about whether their purchased goods are from a small business more now than they did before COVID-19 struck.

Finally, we wanted to know, are we really what we eat? The survey revealed that although we prefer purchasing clothing, homewares and giftware from small businesses, and we also like to source trades and services from small businesses, three quarters (76.1 per cent) of Aussies opt for purchasing their weekly groceries from a larger scale supermarket rather than from a small-business grocer.

How do you show support to your local small business? Join in on the conversation on our InstagramFacebook or Twitter now.

Data received by Hunter and Bligh and conducted by CoreData Research, a global specialist financial services research and strategy consultancy. The survey was conducted in May 2021 and received results from 1235 Australians.
Feature image: Photographed by watcharin panyawutso from Getty Images Pro. Image via Canva.