As we embark on the holiday season in the midst of the coronavirus, our impulse is to do all of our gift shopping online. While that impulse is a good one for the sake of safety, we need to be putting renewed focus on what this pandemic has done to our Main Street.
During the past nine months, we have lost several businesses within our communities. (Fortunately, we have gained several as well.) Most of those businesses that succumbed cited the lack of revenue or foot traffic as the reasons.
We see it firsthand. As businesses tighten their belts to withstand the financial challenges, they are doing less marketing as well. That has translated into fewer advertising dollars necessary to keep these newspapers going. Advertising is the lifeblood of businesses, and in robust times, newspapers are guaranteed eyeballs seeing a business owner’s message. While social media can be a useful tool for marketing, the newspaper is one of the most sound barometers of a community’s economic health. More advertising means more money being pumped into local businesses.
While the virus took a toll on businesses for sure, we have seen many mom-and-pop operations adapt their business models in such a way that they continue to stay open, keep their messaging on point, and use all of the tools possible to share the good word: we are open.
And many business owners have rightly raised concerns that with the threat of more lockdowns as a result of the recent surge in COVID cases across Vermont (and the nation), there is greater risk in the fourth quarter (when most small businesses make a lion’s share of their annual revenue).
It is simple economics. And common sense.
If we say that after the pandemic we want to return to some semblance of “normal,” we must be investing in our local businesses, especially right now. Otherwise, if we choose to rely on Amazon and other large-scale retailers, we could be left with deep regret about our short-term decision-making made out of a desire for convenience.
Plenty of local businesses, as part of their re-adjusting, have made their wares available via remote or curbside delivery, or mail or shipping. It is as simple as reaching out to your local business owner, or consult their websites, figure out the easiest way to place your order, and explore your options to collect your gifts. (Trust us, local business owners will go to great lengths right now to make sure they have and maintain the business of their neighbors and friends.)
But perhaps more importantly, if you cannot decide on a specific gift, you should buy a gift certificate from your favorite local stores and restaurants. It puts cash directly into their bottom line, and provides an assurance for a visit from a customer later on. It most cases, this will benefit a business greatly now, which is precisely where the need happens to be.
As consumers, we need to be mindful of our choices. They have implications. It might feel as though we can “let someone else” shop locally, but it needs to be all of us.
This will be a different kind of holiday season. And it will, in many ways, have more significance because of the lack of connection we have to that traditional shopping experience. But we are indebted to our local economy to keep that connection going, to show our support in ways that keep money squarely within our local economy.
That is the gift that we can give ourselves this season, knowing that our local investments are keeping our friends and neighbors in business, and beyond.
We can and must make the difference now. Big business is doing just fine during this pandemic (just ask your postal carrier).
Let’s make local matter most.
This editorial first appeared in the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus on Nov. 27.
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