Three Personal Reasons to Shop Locally this Weekend

Shoppers will crowd the super centers and malls this weekend following Thanksgiving. Friday and Saturday are really busy shopping days 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?

If you truly want to create a Work Positive impact with your holiday spending, here are three reasons to shop locally this Saturday, November 26, 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, took excellent care of our vehicles, and let us keep an account with him which my Dad paid off every month. J.B. trusted us, and we trusted him to service our vehicles and make repairs.

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, $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 teacher 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 many other government-supported 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? Or, buys gas for her vehicle from the locally-owned service center?

Those local dollars turn over many, many times, don’t they?

Yes, we live in a global village. Spending your holiday gift money at a locally-owned, small business retailer profits your 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 boxer.

For instance, my brother purchased two historic postcards depicting scenes from the town I grew up in, framed them, and gave them to me for a holiday gift. His forethought, consideration, and knowledge of how much I miss that little town made that gift one I treasure to this day. My personal satisfaction from that gift is huge.

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, I hope.

Since you’ll be out shopping anyway, go by your local small business stores and discover personal service, offer some personal support, and give some personal satisfaction.