This Small Business Saturday, Four Reasons to #ShopSmall
In a day and age when Amazon reigns supreme, it’s becoming harder to think about going down to your local mom-and-pop store to do your holiday shopping. Why trade convenience and cheapness for supporting your local small business, which likely has fewer options, possibly at a higher price point than a mass-demand large retailer and maybe requires you to go in-store instead of shop from the convenience of your phone or couch? With Small Business Saturday coming up on Nov. 25, here are four reasons why supporting your local shops is the way to go.
- It builds community
Why do you love where you live? It’s probably a combination of your neighbors, quality of life, the parks and river, the activities and amenities. It’s likely your local small business is not just a store. It’s a hub for different activities, a participant in neighborhood events, an active supporter on community issues, a supporter of local schools, and community events.
- It’s good for the economy
Patronizing your local, small shops contributes far more to your local economy. Studies show that a much higher percentage of small business revenues stay in the local economy, through employment, local taxes, and local sourcing of goods and services. The share that stays local in large or chain businesses, is much less, with most of the money you spend leaving the neighborhood, and even perhaps the state or country.
- It’s personal
There is something about going into your local drug store where the pharmacist knows you by name, the deli where the man working behind the counter knows your Monday lunch order by heart, the coffee shop where the baristas know to always leave room for almond milk at the top of your iced Americano. These are increasingly important human touches when we spend so much of our time in front of a screen, often disconnected from people who are not in our network of friends and family. And you know what? This type of personal attention also breeds convenience when you don’t even have to state your order.
- It’s customizable
We all have that one person for whom it is impossible to shop. You can spend hours scouring the internet for the perfect gift, which may end up having an outrageous price tag or inconvenient shipping date. Or you can go into your local small business and actually talk to a human about this picky person’s particular tastes. The bonus is that depending on the type of store, it’s possible the proprietor can come up with a custom idea for your gift recipient.
This Saturday, we encourage you to stop by Buunni, but also many of our neighborhood small businesses to kick off your holiday shopping. From free local delivery to coffee subscriptions, from gift cards to gift baskets (not to mention those gorgeous hand-made scarves), we have plenty of options to delight the friends and family you are buying for this holiday season, and all year long.
