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Aug 2011  |  By Susan B. Noyes  |  Comments

SOS: Shop Our Stores and Save Local Treasures

Our hometown economies face more challenges than ever!

• Pinched consumer pocketbooks and predatory pricing from online shopping and big box stores conspire to keep customers out of local stores
• Group coupons—like Groupon and Living Social—get consumers into a store; but usually at a loss for the merchant
• More nonprofits than ever request handouts
• And the number of local media outlets clamoring for advertising dollars continue to proliferate

The newest challenge may be the most insidious yet—smart phone apps that allow an in-store customer to quickly and easily purchase an item they like from a less-expensive online source.  

The money goes to a nameless, faceless, distant entity and not to the neighbor who owns the store, pays rent, hires local employees, supports community events like parades and fairs, knows their customers by name, and donates to local schools and nonprofits.

Money is to a community what blood is to a body. Circulation promotes good health; siphon off too much and the body (or our community) grows weak.

The “Shop Evanston” campaign summarizes the dynamics well. For every $100 spent at a locally owned independent store, $68 returns to the community in taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. For every $100 spent in a big box store, only $14 dollars comes back to the community. And for an online store, the amount is usually $0.

But it’s hard to beat the convenience of online shopping, isn’t it?  Stay home and click to receive.  

So Make It Better urges our local businesses to use online techniques to connect with local shoppers.  And we offer them great tools to do so.  Also, we encourage our readers (you!) to follow us online and click through to order from the savvy businesses and stylish products we recommend. These clicks make your life easy AND keep local businesses strong.

We enjoy making it easy for you to connect with the best in your community—in print, in person and online. Please help keep our hometowns strong and shop our stores. They are local treasures.