Shopping local means buying products and services that, while available in large online retailers you choose to buy them locally from a local retailer.
Think of the difference between eating at a chain vs. eating at a local restaurant. What are the obvious advantages and disadvantages of both?
At a chain, you have a consistent menu everywhere you go, but at a local restaurant, you have variety that you can’t get from a chain.
At a chain, your individual feedback is not valued, because they have a marketing company that makes purchasing decisions for the entire company, while at a local restaurant values your input because it makes the difference between whether they succeed or fail.
You would be surprised to know that allot of local businesses DO NOT shop locally.
While these people encourage you to shop locally to help them pay the bills, they themselves do not.
It goes both ways.
And why not? For the same reasons many of you don’t. They think shopping locally is more expensive or that national or international vendors are better.
Shopping locally does not just mean buying from some vendors, but choosing to ignore others. It means choosing to support local people in whatever endeavor they are involved in. It’s more than just buying stuff and really means being more involved with local people.
Shopping is more than just price and item. That’s the problem, we tend to think that there are some things that are personal and there’s something that are strictly business but when you’re dealing with people, there’s no such distinction and the sooner we realize that, the better.
Every business interaction is a human interaction and therefore a personal interaction. To shop locally, means making personal connections that you cannot and will not make shopping big box stores.
Reasons to shop local.
The main reason we all should shop locally has nothing to do with all the reasons that people try to guilt you into shopping locally. The main reason we ought to shop locally is to connect with the people around you and to help build our community.
It’s a restoration of community involvement, it’s getting to know people around you and making connections. And this is more than just a cat poster, it has real world benefits to you.
You might need a job one day.
You may never think about it this way, but doing business locally makes connections that may turn into business interactions in the future.
Local control
Shopping local, not only makes personal connections, but also gives you local control over the products and services available to you.
If your only goal is only to save a dollar on the stuff you buy now and the price tag is the only variable that you’re worried about, you may be losing out on opportunities that are not related necessarily to price.
How to shop local
So now that you’re convinced (and I hope that you are) to shop locally, ho do you do it? Does it matter where you shop?
Oh yes! Shopping local is a big part of community unity so that means you need to shop with people that you are compatible with.
If the business people in your community are not compatible with you, don’t be afraid to do business with someone else.
And THAT is a major reason you should shop locally. You have no idea what kind of people they are that run those big box retailers and likely you never will. Do they share your values? Or do they hold opposing values? You may think you have an idea of what kind of people they are, but you have no idea.
Supporting local businesses is more than just keeping your money local, but supporting the people that share your values.
