It goes without saying that the shopping habits of many have been altered over the past year. Anyone who was not already spending their entire weeks wages online were now doing so. Whether it was sheer boredom or not is beyond the point: we had all progressed to an online shopping society.
But then BREXIT hit in January of 2021 and everything we thought we knew about our beloved online shopping went out the window, and we were suddenly hit with a frenzy of drawbacks.
“We have to pay customs?”
“I have to wait a month for a book from Easons?”
“They want me to pay how much for shipping?!”
It all seemed to slap us Irish folk in the face quite hard, especially the first month. Not only was this affecting trade from Britain, but also globally as the couriers who usually slide through Britain to get through to us were now being stopped and searched. This added weeks to their journeys, thus adding weeks onto our expected delivery dates.
However, this can also be seen as a positive:
Since BREXIT, we seem to be really basking in the delight that is Irish owned businesses. Whether it be earrings or wax melts, crystals or resin bookmarks, we are here for it all. There is no better feeling than supporting locals, especially knowing that the delivery won’t take 3 years and charge you ridiculous customs.
This has actually been propelled forward by the current shipping crisis in the Suez Canal in Egypt which has affected over 40% of the world’s trade. The shipping container with over 20,000 shipping containers on board has been stuck since the 23rd of March when it ran aground diagonally.
This story, and the tribulations of ordering online thanks to BREXIT have only highlighted for us the importance and effortlessness of supporting local businesses.