This year, after watching Hurricane Helene devastate Asheville, Black Mountain, and other cities near where I call home, I committed to getting my Christmas gifts locally. Not only did I want to support small businesses fighting reduced tourism and storm damage, but I also wanted to take the opportunity to find locally and sustainably made gifts.
When I do my holiday shopping, I usually look for the best deal at big corporate stores like Amazon, Target, or wherever else has the best sales at the time. I research my items, plan ahead, and take advantage of two-day shipping to get last-minute items. As a busy mom, convenience is a much-appreciated perk.
However, buying in small quantities is essential to keeping the American economy alive. According to the Small business administration99.9 percent of businesses in the United States are considered small and employ almost half (45.9 percent) of American workers and represents 43.5 percent of the country’s GDP.
Small businesses often have trouble competing with larger companies when it comes to pricing, marketing, and e-commerce capabilities. They also have a harder time than big box retailers when competing with them for workers, customers and overall sales. A dollar at a small business is worth much more than a dollar at companies like Amazon or Target, both for the company and the local economy.
While shopping in small quantities wasn’t as easy as ordering things with a click and waiting for my packages to arrive, I had a lot more fun holiday shopping this year and enjoyed supporting my community with my purchases.
1. Even a small purchase has a big impact
According to data from the American Independent Business AllianceBuying locally creates a multiplier effect: 48 percent of local businesses’ revenue flows into the local economy, creating jobs, creating a purchasing channel from other businesses, and helping to fund charitable contributions. By comparison, only 14 percent of chain store revenue returns to the local economy.
For small business owners, every dollar counts. Many of the owners and staff I interacted with were grateful for my patronage and took the time to speak with me, even when the store was busy. Many of them congratulated my little daughter and thanked me for my business.
Even online shopping had an impact from afar. When one of my favorite Instagram craft accounts announced their Christmas ornaments, I went ahead, bought one, and left a nice review. Later that day, the owner shared the review on her page and thanked her customers for helping boost her business and pay for her daughter’s education.
2. You feel connected to your community
Small businesses are the backbone of America’s towns and cities. They help form a unique local scene and contribute greatly to the local economy. Small businesses often sponsor community events and youth sports teams, organize booths at local fairs, and help make each city unique.
The shopping experience at big box stores lacks the unique charm that small businesses offer. All the aisles are laid out the same way (unless they decide to change them to make you wander around and buy more things). They all play the same company-approved radio music, they all offer virtually the same stock, and they all tend to exist on small impassable islands surrounded by parking lots. If you’re in the suburbs, the shopping experience tends to be a closed sequence of getting out of the car, entering the store, picking up your things, and then getting back in the car.
Buying something small, especially if you’re downtown, tends to be an exercise in both a city’s offerings and, well, exercise. Not only was I able to get in (especially dragging my daughter’s stroller), but I also enjoyed the old historic buildings, art installations, and local musicians playing Christmas music on the corner.
As I walked around town, I chatted with store owners and employees, learned about an upcoming Christmas parade, and visited a few stores I knew I’d visit in the off-season.
3. You let yourself be surprised
Small businesses are known for their offerings that are not typically found at large retailers. At Bankrate christmas shopping survey61 percent of respondents reported that small businesses’ unique gifts and products gave them an advantage over big-box stores.
As someone who is a chronic planner (I have spreadsheets after spreadsheets for things like my DVD collection), going Christmas shopping with only a rough battle plan was a little scary. While there were some specific items I knew I was going to buy, I tried to keep it loose and find things I think my family would like.
Going with the flow and shopping around (rather than typing increasingly specific queries into an online search box or searching for brands at a big box retailer) allowed me to see what the city center had to offer.
I found myself having fun browsing different stores to find the perfect thing for my friends and family. Sometimes I would find something I wasn’t looking for, but knew would be perfect for a friend. My gift list grew quickly, as did my reasons for visiting people this season.
4. You think more about who you will receive gifts for.
Impulse purchases were the bread and butter of my little shopping experience. Like 38 percent of Americans surveyed at Bankrate impulse purchases survey, I often found myself purchasing something that wasn’t necessarily on my shopping list.
Other times, the store didn’t have exactly what I was looking for. While I doggedly searched for certain items, with others it seemed okay to change my list.
I kept a running list of things my family had mentioned they needed or were looking for (like my mother-in-law lamenting how her favorite teapot had broken) and thought about each person’s likes and dislikes. It made shopping a fun challenge, especially for those who didn’t have a set list of gift requests.
5. Employees know what they are talking about.
It’s no surprise that the general public considers employee experience to be a strength of small businesses: 61 percent of Bankrate respondents christmas shopping survey found that small businesses offer better customer service than large retailers.
It’s something I saw in action when shopping at small businesses. When I had questions about what would be a good gift for my chili-loving sister, one of the employees gave me a detailed explanation of the different spice blends the store had to offer and their heat levels.
At several of the stores I visited, employees were clearly passionate about the stores’ offerings and mentioned favorite products they used in their own home. Seeing employees be so supportive of the company made me happy to be able to support them in return, especially with all the demands on staff from Christmas shopping.
In a nutshell
Even as a busy parent with limited time to shop, I had fun. My baby enjoyed the whole walk, I discovered a ton of stores that I will visit after the Christmas season, and I got to see some beautiful Christmas displays downtown.
While I’ll always be a fan of shopping in my pajamas (midnight emergency diaper order club members, raise your hands), going downtown reminded me how fun shopping in person can be and how rewarding it is to give Back to my local economy.