Shop Local

Now that we are in the heat of the holiday season, I just wanted to take some time to plug the small local retailer. There are so many good reasons to shop local and that is especially true after the last couple of years we have experienced with covid wreaking havoc on even the most seasoned proprietors. Unfortunately, small business was hit hard.

There are loads of good reasons why we should be supporting the local retailer. Let’s review some of those reasons below:

Love thy neighbor. Let’s start there.

Wouldn’t you like to support someone in your community who you might or might not know? But also, wouldn’t you like to be supported by them if you owned a business too? The local store is like a living breathing human being especially as compared to a big box store which is faceless. It isn’t like when you think of a local big box store that you can actually picture a person that greatly cares about your pleasure.

Thy neighbor provides excellent customer service.

Yes, as a general rule, local shop owners provide excellent customer service. When you boil it down, they need to stay in business so they need to hustle to survive and do whatever it takes to keep customers happy and coming back. In other words, they have a very vested interest in your satisfaction.

There is a sense of community when buying local.

For this example, I think of a local quilt shop. I have visited many over the years and what never gets old is the camaraderie that one can observe when all the locals get together for a class or an event. You can hear the humming of the communal banter and that is a really nice feel. That’s the local feel.

The local retailer carries quality products and a diverse array of products. Where the big box retailers have a home office buying for all the stores, the products are geared at mass appeal. They are also geared at being as low priced as possible which sometimes can have a negative impact on the quality.

On the other hand, local stores will have more local items and locally sourced items. This provides you with that homey small-town feel. Think of a local market that offers products from local farmers or a quilt shop that has locally handmade items. That’s the stuff you can get local and that’s the good stuff if you ask me.

On top of all that, when you shop locally you will feel good about it. You helped that neighbor and that was a good thing. Your neighbor will appreciate you for that.

With that, I sure hope you all have some time to visit your local quilt shop retailer between now and the end of the year. That way you can see for yourself why you should be shopping local and small.

Wishing you all a great finish to another crazy year called 2021!