The faithful readers of our Opinion page may have noticed a theme in recent months. If you missed it, I’ll repeat: Think local, act local, buy local, support local.
It turns out I’m really good at thinking local and acting local, but seriously slacking on spending my money locally despite the fact there are so many reasons to do so.
There are only so many ways to say it – most of us have less money to go around these days. So why wouldn’t I want to have each cent I spend have as much impact as possible?
According to some research, as much as 45 cents of every dollar spent at a locally owned business stays in the community, compared to 13 cents of every dollar spent at a national chain.
That got my attention, so my husband and I took a vow to only buy Christmas presents from local retailers this year. It has been a breath of fresh air to get out to local stores I haven’t been to in ages, and I think the Vancouver’s Downtown Association website sums it up quite nicely:
“Your local merchants and businesses are in the best position to know what you need and want because they, too, live, work, shop and play here. Save a little gas and time, get to know your local business owners and celebrate the season in this place you know and love.”
By shopping locally, you create an instant sense of community for yourself.
In my push for local Christmas presents, I’ve met several store owners and local artists, many of whom are my neighbors.
And the service I’ve received from these retailers cannot be matched by large chain stores – a great selling point for these shops.
Jan Teague, president and CEO of the Washington Retail Association, told the VBJ: “As they focus on service, they’ll figure out how to draw in their customer base. It might be early shopping on Saturday, cocoa in the afternoon or gift wrapping – things that remind customers that they enjoy the store for that kind of unique service.”
Which always leads me to think of my all-time favorite movie town, Bedford Falls from the classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Since my first glimpse of Main Street in Bedford Falls, that is what I thought commerce should be: Buying from your neighbors, selling to your neighbors, because you care about your neighbors.
Think of dear George Bailey, using his honeymoon money to save the poor Bailey Bros. Building and Loan. That’s a man who has faith in his community, in large part because he’d done business with those people his whole life.
I’m not necessarily recommending this course of action if your business is in trouble, but think of the impact it might have if all of us were on a first-name basis with everyone we do business with.
So be like George: act local this season. We all know just how much impact he had on precious Bedford Falls.
