With shopping small – it’s what you get that matters

by D.E. Bentley –

It just seems to make sense to give directly back to the people in your community, to keep the resources at home by shopping local, buying local and enjoying theresources our communities offer.  That said, people are more on the go than ever before, and the definition of home has expanded to include wider areas as people relocate for economic and social reasons and travel farther for work and entertainment.  Thus, convincing the general public to focus their spending dollars and shopping energies at home, when it is oh so much easier to click a button or grab everything you need in one large, convenient location is a challenging proposition, as any small business owner knows.

I recall some shopping I did in Acapulco, Mexico in the early 1990s.  Acapulco at the time had a warehouse sized mega store that we wandered into for some supplies.  Being a small town native, and having not ventured far from home, most anything would have seemed large and impressive at the time, but this store genuinely was large and impressive.  There was everything one could possibly need in one generously-sized location: glue for a needed repair, sun block, tequila, a farm animal book (in Spanish) and a blow up plastic dragon toy are the items I recall purchasing.  There was a grocery store, liquor store, hardware store and clothing options along with an everything-you-need feel to the place that resembles some current franchise brick and mortar stores, which are in turn are dwarfed in scale by Amazon’s computer “manned” mega warehouses and item availability.   Although Walmart, Sam’s Club and other large scale shopping experiences were already well established in the 1990s, I had never experienced so large and eclectic of a collection prior to that first Acapulco encounter.

Lest it sound like I am building up these types of mega businesses as a wonderful innovation and worthy experience, let me stress that it was my other Acapulco shopping experience and more recent similar ventures, that define for me the “ideal,” shopping experience – this from a non-shopper.

Vast open markets of goods spread out across many blocks, weaving in and out of enclosed and partially enclosed buildings and canopies is a simple way of explaining their open-air markets.  A hybrid of large farmers’ markets – with defined walkways and large under cover areas – and flea markets with multiple vendors is an approximate facsimile.  The similarities being that each booth or room is operated and owned by a single person, family or small business.  The Acapulco open market differed in that many of the stalls sold home made goods or food that was produced locally.   With the exception of street vendors, the girl with the small ceramic animal collection, the man selling rugs and drugs on the beach, these markets offered the most immediate means by which products and goods, human and material resources, could remain in the communities where they originated.

In the many cities, towns, villages and hamlets that dominate the Finger Lakes Region of New York State, now ubiquitous big box stores resemble the mega store in Acapulco, which now also has its own network of US big box entities to choose from.  The more open markets have no real equivalent.  However, despite the dooms day fears of online harming brick and mortar big and small and big box franchises eliminating small businesses, a broad shadow cast ominously over the American dream of entrepreneurial spirit and success, there are still some signs that small businesses are here to stay.

Although a small business* is very different from the hundreds of sole proprietors at the Acapulco open market, business profiles and statistics highlight the importance of these smaller ventures.   According to US Census information compiled in the 2016 Small Business Association’s Small Business Profiles, an annual analysis of each state’s small business activities, the 28.8 million small businesses account for 99.7% of U.S. businesses.  United States small businesses employed 57.9 million people, or 47.8% of the private workforce, in 2014.  In New York State, there are 2.1 million small businesses representing 99.0% of New York businesses, and 3.9 million small business employees – 50.6% of New York employees.  The number of proprietors in New York State increased by 1.2 % in 2015 (relative to 2014) and private-sector employment increased 2.1% in 2015, a .2% increase from the previous year.

Despite these numbers, there are more small businesses closing than opening each year and it takes little more than a mid-day walk down any smaller New York “Main Street” to see that many of these businesses are struggling.

Big box stores are vying for your money and your time, and there is no denying the pull, and pressure, placed on people around holiday time.  Even before the bags of leftover Halloween candy are hauled away, the push for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and an abundance of deals and dealings are already underway.  Despite some criticism, there is one pre-holiday promotional event designed to benefit smaller businesses, offering them a way to draw in some of the one trillion plus spent during the holiday season.  Small Business Saturday, a trademarked venture started in 2010 by American Express – yes, American Express – encourages holiday shoppers to patronize small and local brick and mortar businesses.  This year’s Small Business Saturday takes place on Saturday, November 25, 2017.

Each American will spend, on average, more than $700 dollars this holiday season, and many will buy online.   If everyone used this Small Business Saturday incentive to buy local, by spending just 1/7th of that estimated annual amount near home in independently owned businesses, imagine the difference that would make to our communities.  It is, we might argue, so much easier to buy online or to grab and go at some area mega store, but there are some very compelling reasons to shop in small local establishments.

*The Small Business Association defines a “small business” as having less than 500 employees (although 98 percent of them have less than 20 employees).

Some other reasons to shop local this holiday season – and all year round:

• What’s spent in town stays in town.

It is estimated that between 60-70% of every dollar spent at a local independent retailer remains in town as compared with closer to 50% per dollar when buying from big box stores.  Unless the product originates from your town – in which case why not buy it there – 0% of an online purchase stays in your town, to support your community.

• Small Business is America’s #1 employer

According to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) 46% of small business employers plan to continue working, and hiring indefinately and another 23% run their businesses until 65 or 70 years old.

• Small Business a voice for change

Disproportionately large percentages of small-business owners are registered to vote (95%), usually do vote (84%), and run for elective office (3%). (NFIB)

• Shopping local benefits the environment

Industrial pollution is responsible for almost 50 percent of the pollution present in the United States (EPA). Shopping locally helps cut down on processing, packaging and transportation waste, leading to less pollution.

• Buying local supports local arts

Exploring the work of local artists supports the “Makers Movement” and provides the opportunty to meet talented artisans and small business owners who take great pride in their work while finding one-of-a-kind, meaningful gifts.  And its made in the USA!

• It’s good for you and your community!

Shopping and buying local provides opportunities to connect with people in your community and to take some time for yourself and your family. 

Shopping small and local is fun!