New research shows Australians support buying local for different reasons – and not all will pay more

We have now passed the annual Australia Day peak of calls urging us to “Buy Australian”, especially lamb. The iconic green and gold ‘Australian Made, Australian Grown’ logo, launched by then Prime Minister Bob Hawke in 1986, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

We are also often encouraged to support local businesses in difficult times. The recent devastating effects of the bushfires in Victoria highlight the importance of supporting local businesses in need.

But is buying local feasible or desirable for most Australians? Who buys Australian made – and why? These questions formed the core of our latest research, which was based on a nationally representative survey of 924 Australian consumers.

We found that a majority of Australians are in favor of buying local. But their motivations for doing so vary considerably – and not everyone is willing to pay more.

Looking beyond the farmer’s market

Most previous research has focused on local foods. Much less is known about the motivations for purchasing other types of local goods.

We asked people if they wanted to buy locally produced goods in a wide range of categories, including fruit and vegetables, meat, alcoholic beverages, clothing, furniture, decorative items, personal accessories and other household items.

If the answer was yes, we asked why – and if they were willing to pay more for it.

Who buys Australian made and why?

We found that the desire to “buy local” cannot be neatly categorized as progressive or conservative, nor is the desire to support local limited to any particular demographic.

We found that most Australians had a strong desire to buy local. Overall, the top three reasons were:

1. “to support the local economy and employment”
2. “better quality”
3. “I prefer to support small businesses.”

This was consistent across all product categories, with supporting the local economy and employment being by far the strongest motivation.

What matters to men and women

But there were some notable variations. For example, although responses were fairly similar by gender, men were much more likely than women to seek out Australian-made alcoholic drinks, which they perceived as “better quality” and “safer and more reliable”.

In the same product category, women were much more interested in the ‘story’ of such products and more often chose the answer ‘I would like to know where and how it is produced’ than men.

When it came to clothing and personal accessories, concerns about working conditions and environmental impacts emerged as stronger drivers for women.

Who is willing to pay more?

Perhaps surprisingly, we found that income level has little to do with whether people are willing to pay more for locally produced goods. This is where other values ​​come into play.

We found that people over 45 had the strongest preference to buy local, and this was mainly driven by a desire to support the local economy and employment. However, they were also the least willing to pay more. In particular, ethical or value-based considerations were less decisive for this group.

In contrast, younger people were more likely to buy local for environmental reasons or for reasons related to working conditions and workplace ethics. Despite having lower incomes, young people were generally willing to pay more for these considerations.

Additional differences became apparent when we considered respondents’ political views – especially their views on immigration.

Those over 45, who had the greatest desire to support the local economy and employment, also had the most negative views on immigration. They said they believed immigration rates were too high and needed to be tightened.

This was in contrast to younger respondents who also wanted to buy locally for reasons beyond supporting the local economy. This cohort was more motivated to buy local for environmental or ethical reasons and tended to have more positive views on immigration, feeling that immigration rates were “about the same” or could be higher.

Why this matters

The disruption of COVID made local production and sourcing more urgent and common. This accelerated a shift to small-scale and local production that began before the pandemic.

Since the pandemic, Australian businesses have faced further economic and environmental disruptions: natural disasters, the reintroduction of tariffs by the United States and the ongoing cost of living crisis, to name a few.

However, our research suggests that the same act of buying local has different meanings across the demographic and political spectrum.

These findings are important to consider at this time, as anti-immigration sentiment becomes more visible.