(Arthur Franklin/Unsplash)
Retail giants like Amazon are blurring the boundaries of consumption. But thanks to platforms that link online consumption to local interests, the desire to buy local, a trend fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, is now giving rise to a new phenomenon known as “digital localism.”
While the pandemic has resulted in border closures and an increased desire to localize production and use supply chains that are close to home, large platforms like Amazon have been criticized for cashing in on the economic misfortune for small local businesses brought about by the crisis.
In Québec, this spawned the creation of new platforms to sell local goods, such as Le Panier Bleu, Ma Zone Québec, Boomerang, Inc. and J’achète au Lac, a site for purchasing local goods in the province’s Lac St-Jean region.
Disclosure statement
Myriam Ertz is part of the Groupement Des Universitaires (DU) and has obtained research grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Société et Culture (FRQSC), the Fondation de l UQAC (FUQAC), and the Fonds de Développement Académique du Réseau (FODAR) of the Université du Québec.
Imen Latrous receives funding from Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.
Damien Hallegatte and Julien Bousquet do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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