Between Tesco and Amazon, I could buy everything I need this Christmas. I’d be confident about having huge choice, paying reasonable prices, and getting decent service. It sounds like a no-brainer – so why would I rather sell my soul to the devil than make my holiday shopping so simple?
The answer is that I’m passionate about independent retailers. Whether that’s local bricks and mortar or niche online specialists, I believe they’re the grass roots of our retail economy and the lifeblood of many local communities.
It’s easy to see this in our high streets and town centres. Independent retailers are part of our national fabric, making each town distinct from the next, supporting the local economy, and absorbing the money we spend into the local community rather than syphoning it off to institutional shareholders.
And when you think about it, it’s no different online. Specialist independent online retailers don’t inhabit cyberspace – they’re based in local communities too; providing employment, spending money, supporting local causes. In fact, for many small communities that were previously ‘geographically challenged’ for retailing, the internet has provided a new lease of life for the local economy.
Good independent retailers – whether online, on the high street, or both – very often offer surprisingly competitive prices, excellent service, and plenty of choice. What makes them different is the selection they make on your behalf of what to sell, the guidance of personal recommendation, the feeling that you’re really valued as a customer, and the knowledge that you’re supporting the sort of independent business that you’d never want to disappear. For me, that’s a no-brainer.
Happy shopping!
Picture by LoopZilla
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