Shoppers will crowd the super centers and malls starting Thanksgiving evening in the U.S. In fact, over the next several weeks, retail stores will do 50% or more of their business for the year.
So where will you go? And who will you do business with?
Here are three positive reasons to shop local especially this Saturday, November 29, which is Small Business Saturday.
Personal Service
You receive personal service from the relationships you form with these retailers who really want to help you find that just-right gift for your special someone.
I can remember shopping as a kid with my parents. We went to see Mr. Alford at Clarks Department Store when I outgrew my dress clothes. He was a friend of ours and the store was locally owned. Mr. Alford always seemed to know what I looked best in.
We also bought our gas and had our cars serviced by J.B. Webb at the Esso station. J.B. was our neighbor, and took excellent care of our vehicles. We trusted him.
In today’s world where so much of everything is virtual, visit a local, small business retailer this weekend and enjoy the real-time, personal service.
Personal Support
Have you ever thought about where your money goes once your purchase is completed?
When you shop with a locally-owned, small business retailer, about $68 of every $100 you spend returns to your local community. The obvious ways it returns are sales, payroll, and property taxes. Those taxes pay teachers’ salaries who educate our children, municipal utility crews who go out in ice storms and restore our electricity, water treatment plant operators who keep our drinking water safe, and other services.
And what about the sales clerk who receives her paycheck and gives a donation to the local Salvation Army’s Angel Tree? Or, buys her groceries from the local, fresh produce market? Those local dollars turn over many, many times.
Yes, we live in a global village. Spending your holiday gift money at a locally-owned, small business retailer positively profits your own village.
Personal Satisfaction
Discover locally produced or themed products that carry with them an emotional attachment for the recipient. Such a unique gift carries with it a personal satisfaction that displays more intimacy and care than an “Oh yea” gift from a big box retailer.
For instance, my brother gave me two historic, framed postcards depicting scenes from the town I grew up in. His forethought, consideration, and knowledge of how much I miss that little town made that gift one I treasure to this day.
Find a local artist who paints regional scenes. Buy a painting and send it to a family member or friend who moved away.
Look around for other unique, locally-produced or themed gifts. They mean so much more than just another mass-made product.
So where will you shop this weekend? With a local small business retailer?
Since you’ll be out shopping anyway, visit your local small businesses and discover personal service, offer some personal support, and give some personal satisfaction. You’ll positively be glad you did!
About the Author
Dr. Joey Faucette is the #1 Amazon best-selling author of Work Positive in a Negative World (Entrepreneur Press), coach, and speaker who helps business professionals increase sales with greater productivity so they get out of the office earlier. Discover more at www.ListentoLife.org.
