Don't give all your cash to corporate giants. Shop local instead! – Hayley Matthews

I can't help but feel that all the recent chat about how Asos, Amazon and many other online big shopping companies have been doing so well during the lockdown is incredibly insensitive to the small business owners who are not allowed to open/trade.
We should cherish local businesses, not just buy everything from supermarkets and online retail giants, says Hayley Matthews (Picture: Stu Norton)We should cherish local businesses, not just buy everything from supermarkets and online retail giants, says Hayley Matthews (Picture: Stu Norton)
We should cherish local businesses, not just buy everything from supermarkets and online retail giants, says Hayley Matthews (Picture: Stu Norton)

I think it's a sad state of affairs that these companies have been able to take advantage of the online selling situation during the last year.

Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means perfect and have bought things online (tell me someone who hasn't), but I'm starting to see the error in my ways.

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With the wealth gap between rich and poor growing, I just want to do as much as I can to shop local.

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It baffles me how Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrison's and all the big supermarkets can sell clothes, scarves and birthday cards etc yet wee Janie at the bottom of the Royal Mile is told she can't sell woollen scarves, trinkets and postcards.

It doesn't make sense and angers me that after all the "shop local" spiel that's been churned out to us the last few years, we're now not able to really do that.

After looking at the stats on how many small businesses have closed recently in many countries, it makes me feel ill to think about how these people can supporting their families.

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So do our next generation a favour and if you can, use your greengrocer, use your butcher, use your fishmonger and all the other wee ones in between and if the government has given you any money to help survive the lockdown – for goodness sake please don't spend it in Asda!

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