Digital Business Ireland, the country’s leading representative body for the digital commerce sector, has published a list of the best 20 Irish websites to shop with this Christmas, following the announcement of this year’s finalists in the annual National Digital Awards, sponsored by Permanent tsb. The list coincides with the organisation’s ‘Click Green, Buy Nearby’ campaign, which encourages consumers to shop online from Irish websites this festive period.
Spanning numerous sectors across the digital commerce space, including retail, health and beauty, technology, hospitality and more, the websites named have been selected from a number of categories in this year’s National Digital Awards. With more than 500 entries submitted, the finalists were revealed last week following deliberations among the esteemed judging panel of industry experts. Renowned brands such as Harvey Norman, Heavins and EZ Living Furniture appear on the list, along with smaller SMEs whose websites have excelled across user experience, creativity, design, accessibility and compliance.
The return of the ‘Click Green, Buy Nearby’ campaign encourages Irish shoppers to purchase their festive gifts and goods online, via the websites indigenous and local merchants this Christmas – thus raising the tide of the entire Irish e-commerce sector in return. This call is particularly pertinent this winter as inflation continues to run at high levels, impacting both businesses and consumers alike.
Despite the inflationary environment, consumers are still expected to spend an average of €1200 over the Christmas period, with 68% of consumers intending to use their savings to cover the cost of these purchases. This is according to new data from the Consumer Protection Commission published last week. Digital Business Ireland is encouraging consumers to direct this spending power towards Irish websites, and provide a much-needed boost to their local economies.
Likewise, Digital Business Ireland’s partners Guaranteed Irish and .IE are championing Irish businesses this winter with their own campaigns, encouraging consumers to ‘to ‘look out for the g’ symbol and purchase from the websites of businesses in Ireland which display the national marker of trust. Consumers should also be mindful of shopping safely online, and spend only with websites which ensure full compliance with requirements set out by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland.
Speaking on the launch of the list, Chairperson of Digital Business Ireland, Ashley McDonnell said, “Digital Business Ireland is delighted to highlight these exceptional websites and businesses during this busy period of festive shopping. Through this year’s National Digital Awards series – in partnership with permanent tsb – we have borne witness to the growth of the Irish e-commerce sector, with this year’s finalists matching, and in many cases exceeding, the creativity, compliance and user experience hallmarks associated with the best large-scale e-commerce organisations from across the world. We hope this 2022 list will encourage Irish consumers to direct their spending power online towards Irish businesses throughout the festive period and beyond.”
Source: Digital Business Ireland
