Buy from North East launches sites in Beechworth, Bright, Benalla, Wangaratta

Since March, individual sites like Buy From Benalla and Buy from Beechworth have been launching across the North East to provide businesses a platform for sales and residents an easy way to shop local.

The overarching project Buy from North East Vic brings together all the individual town sites.

The 'Buy from' concept was supported by five councils - Wodonga, Towong, Mansfield, Indigo, Wangaratta, Alpine, Benalla - as well as the Ovens Murray Regional Partnership, Issimo Markets and Startup Shakeup

The project aims to help support businesses after a horror start to the year with a summer of bushfires, smoke and low visitation, followed by COVID-19 restrictions.

Wangaratta's Emma Avery, owner of Cloth Baby, said the platform allows residents to discover local web-based businesses they can't stumble across in town.

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Ms Avery said now more than ever, it was important to put money into your community.

"Keeping money local keeps businesses local," she said. "When all this has blown over you'll be left with what your decision were... if you shop somewhere big online like Amazon, they're the ones who are going to survive."

Ms Avery said the pandemic had caused many people to reassess their shopping habits.

"In March and April at the time when the whole toilet paper crisis went on, the shelves were cleared of toilet paper but also of stocks of disposable nappies," she said. "I sell reusable nappies and sales increased in those months. They were my best months and I had potential customers coming to me saying I've been to four or five supermarkets... maybe I should look at reusable options so it doesn't happen again.

"There's a real surge in reusable, a reawakening of people looking at the stuff they're consuming and options that might be a bit more sustaining in these uncertain times."

Startup Shakeup chairwoman Ilena Young said 300 business were already on the Buy From platforms. She said it was free for businesses to join, there were no monthly fees and the cost of use is five per cent of each sale.

Benalla's Beth Grant from Beth's Toy Shop said it was difficult to promote and get traffic to your own website.

"You assume people are going to find you, but it's like setting up shop in the middle of the desert," she said. "The advantages of the Buy From Benalla site is that someone else is doing the promotion and it's a one-stop shop."