In our series Survive the wipeout, we dive into the stories behind our search trends: from the sudden spike in fitness equipment to a dip in outdoor venues. What do they mean for the local businesses around me, and why should I care?

This data isn’t just numbers– it’s blood, sweat and tears behind every small business we serve; the individuals from your local communities that work hard to help you get things done.

For years, you have been trusting Yellow to help you find and connect to local professionals. Now, it’s our job to get behind these numbers and find out how we can support the Australian businesses and survive this economic storm together.

Let’s look at what people have been searching for using data collected from pre-lockdown (January – February) to post-lockdown (March – April):

Dramatic jump in food supplies fuelled by the power of local

Feeding the nation is an essential service. Butcher shops, poultry dealers and greengrocers are bending over backwards to stay open while also keeping their staff employed and safe, making sure there is food on the table for all Australians.

“Most of my customers now are the regulars in the area, and they’ve been coming in most days to get their meats from me,” said Joe, owner of Jonathan’s on Smith in Collingwood. “They told me that instead of going to get their meats from supermarkets, they would rather buy from a local butcher. It’s been really nice to get some support from the locals.”

Poultry farmers and dealers have seen an enormous rise due to the nationwide lockdown, resulted in searches for the category increasing 3 times (204%) during the lockdown period.

With shelves stripped bare of essential items, major supermarkets started setting purchase limits on some household staples. Consumers have quickly realised that having only one to two options for as their primary food supplies is not the safest and most community beneficial way to source their food.

Feed customers differently to stay strong

Try going through a news cycle these days without seeing the word “pivot” being thrown around. What it really means for the small Aussie businesses, is that they are willing to do things differently to keep their heads above water to survive this COVID-19 outbreak.

Home delivery at your doorstep

While these small businesses are keeping their own staff and customers safe, some are now completely changing the way they feed.

“Some of our suppliers have shut, but we want to feed the customers and keep the family business going,” Joe said. “Even if it means we have to deliver the meats to them ourselves. We offer free delivery to our customers now.”

As consumers started to stock up on groceries, some even went so far as hoarding — food suppliers are adapting at a rapid pace to meet the unprecedented demand. With many of the local businesses now offering free home delivery, some are saying the need to take their business online has never been greater.

Online stores to meet growing demand

In Ascot Vale, Paul runs The Happy Apple – an independent greengrocer specialising in fresh seasonal produce with a focus on local ingredients. “We’ve had our online store for quite a while now, and we recently set up another Seddon store to go online to cope with the volume as well,” said Paul. “Having an online presence is definitely a big advantage, especially during the outbreak where a lot of people are doing their grocery shopping online, giving them the option to avoid heavily-trafficked locations.”

The searches for fruit shops & greengrocers have jumped by 70% during the lockdown while butcher shops are up 140%.

Employ locals to keep communities strong

Paul also pointed to another example of keeping the local support strong. “We have amazing buyers that are keeping our stores well-stocked during the outbreak, and we try to source locally, from independent small-batch producers as much as we can.”

He also stressed that hiring local staff helps create a sense of community – where the staff are friendly and give you excellent service; and you can always come up and have a chat with the owner, while keeping the safe distance of course.

How to support your local businesses

Local businesses power our economy. With COVID-19 leaving hundreds of thousands of Australians without work, there has never been a more critical time to support our local trades and help keep the communities employed.

Here’s how you can help:

1. Find and hire local tradesmen who offer phone consultations or are able to work while maintaining a distance (like plumbers or electricians).
2. Ask local professionals who do recurring work (like accountants and auditors) if they can offer video sessions.
3. Consider paying for invoices in a timely manner for work that you’ve completed.