Local Retail, the Foundation of Our Community
Dear Reader,
Something good happens every time you shop and buy from a local retailer: You support our community.
Let’s think about a typical buying experience. Let’s call our local store owner Joe or Jane. You buy something from them, getting value for your dollar, secure in the knowledge that you are not over-paying because Jane and Joe face competitive pressure to keep prices down. Now what?
We can imagine where that money goes. Joe and Jane pay their supplier, pay their employees, and pay themselves with a small profit. The money they and their employees spend then goes somewhere, and that somewhere is mostly right back into our community.
Think of what Joe and Jane are doing to support our community. They are the ones who sponsor the local soccer league, who go to the Chamber of Commerce meetings that focus on making our community a good place to do business. They may be serving in the local government and helping make our home a wonderful place to live. And by buying from them, you are supporting all of that goodness.
And then think of what happens when you spend your money online. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – those dollars leave the community – forever. A dollar spent on Amazon is a dollar sent to Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle. That dollar isn’t going to come back here. It will go on to a seller and supplier somewhere else in the country, or somewhere outside the country. Meanwhile a store owner right here in the community has one less dollar to pay his employees, one less dollar to spend locally or donate to a local charity.
Support our local businesses to keep our community strong and vibrant. Give the local retailer a chance. It’s as simple as that.
Patrick J. Wood
Publisher
Author of “Dear Reader” and “Tapestry of Love and Loss”