An entrepreneur who set up a free website to encourage more people to support Northern Ireland businesses said he has been stunned by how popular it has become in less than a fortnight.
Matthew Stevenson, who works for the Consumer Council, set up supportlocalni.com in his free time.
The not-for-profit site was launched on Tuesday of last week but has already registered around 100 businesses and gained thousands of hits.
The website showcases a range of businesses, from shops, food and drink producers, artists and craft makers.
Mr Stevenson, who is based in Holywood, Co Down, said the pandemic had made consumers more aware of supporting local businesses.
“It’s advanced so quickly,” he said. “This is a tech-for-good project where I’m just trying to give back.
"My mum works in a local coffee shop in Holywood and her hours were affected because of Covid-19.
"Seeing how that affected our family inspired me to see if there was anything I could do outside of work to help anyone else who might be in a similar situation.”
Mr Stevenson said he was pleased by the range of businesses who have joined the site, from fudge-makers and watercolour artists to a company which makes alcoholic seltzer.
“The site has a homepage with a couple of featured businesses - they rotate randomly between what’s hot on the market and what’s doing well,” he said.
“There’s also a gifts page with businesses from all across Northern Ireland who offer something you can order online.”
One artist, who draws watercolours of pints of Guinness, registered on the site after her boyfriend came across it.
“She was trying to find a way to get her stuff out there beyond just putting stuff out on Instagram… She’s been one of the most popular listings on the site in the past two days,” he said.
“It’s crazy. It’s blown my mind to be honest with you.”
Mr Stevenson said he is already thinking of how he can grow the site.
“As we approach Christmas one of the things I’m hoping to do is host a virtual Christmas market on the site…so we can show a couple of Christmassy-themed gifts,” he said.
“Another thing I’m hoping to do, which is a bit more ambitious, is to try and find a way to have people buy directly through the site instead of having to click to the buyer’s site. Some businesses sell through Facebook because they don’t have the technical skills to sell through a payment portal.
“It’s been advancing so quickly from a quick personal project that I just did one day after work to something which is actually providing value to almost 100 businesses and almost 3,000 people across Northern Ireland."
He added: “The demand for locally-sourced products is growing exponentially every day.”
