Funding to help boost online sales

WEST Cork businesses are set to share in a €9.29m fund to support and develop more effective online sales.

This latest call under the Online Retail Scheme (ORS) will see 216 retailers across all counties approved for funding.

Among them are Bantry businesses Burkes of Bantry, Coens Pharmacy and the Newtown Pharmacy, as well as the NCDC pharmacy in Glengarriff and the Organico Shop, café and bakery.

The scheme was open to retailers who already have an online presence and who have a physical store, and is targeted at enhancing their online capability and presence so as they can best exploit new opportunities.

The Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Damien English, outlined the potential benefits of the ORS to retailers, saying: ‘Retailers are at the heart of our communities across the country so the Government are delighted to support an additional 216 local businesses as they take this next step to increasing their sales capability by further developing their online offering.’

Rick Partington of Burkes of Bantry said: ‘We started our ecommerce website within the last two years just to see how it would go for us.

‘But it was during the pandemic that it really came into its own.

‘Now that things are getting back to normal we want to improve the website and really get the best out of it.

‘Online sales is the future and this scheme helps us to not only improve our online presence but helps training and marketing as well, it pushes everything up a level for us.’