“Shop Local”…I shout it all the time, and I wholeheartedly believe that we should all be doing as much as we can to support small, independent businesses in a time when so many of us are running side hustles and second businesses to keep our heads above the proverbial water.
However, today, I wanted to flip that on its head a little, because it’s important to remember that shopping local is just one part of a bigger ecosystem. Today I want to talk about something different.
Reasons Why You Don’t Shop Local, And Why That’s Okay
Money is Tight
Sometimes local products are just not in your price range. That’s not to say they are over-priced or ridiculously expensive, because there is typically a reason products made by small businesses are priced that way. It isn’t to annoy you, or rip you off, or price you out of the market; it is because they are handmade (rather than mass produced), and made in small batches. Quite often pieces are either one-of-kind, or all having tiny differences that comes with being made by hand, rather than a machine.
If products are out of your price range, that is OKAY! No one is going to judge how much money you have, because that is none of their business.
We all know that supermarkets are cheaper than shopping locally, and if that is what your budget stretches to, right now, then that is OKAY, because feeding your family and making sure they are clean and healthy is far more important than making yourself skint in the name of “supporting local”.
What You Shouldn’t Do:
- Bad mouth a business for being “too expensive”
- Tell the business their prices are to high
- Be rude about the products; if they’re not to your taste, that’s absolutely fine, but they don’t have to be to everyone else’s tastes.
What You Can Do Instead:
- Be Kind
- Share their social media posts
- Compliment anything you like
- Recommend them to a friend
- Stay quiet, if you don’t like something.
You Can’t Find What You Need Locally
My partner runs a 3D Printing business, and he regularly needs to purchase Resin and Filaments for commission work. Neither of those can be purchased from anywhere locally, so we only have the option to buy them online. And you know what? That’s okay.
Unless you live in a large city, which – if you’re reading this blog – you probably don’t, the chances that everything you need to live a happy life, is available from a shop local to you, is incredibly slim.
You Want To Ensure Local People Have Jobs
There’s no denying, that bigger businesses create more jobs for local people. Not only that, large corporations are often able to offer skills and training packages that locals might not be able to receive anywhere else. Those skills can potentially be passed further into the community.
In turn, big companies help to support local services like education, and infrastructure, as well as often being strong sources of funding for smaller businesses and/or community groups.
Accessibility
Getting out and about easily, is a luxury that many of us take for granted. However, for some people accessibility isn’t that simple, which means that it is often easier for them to purchase items in a way that is accessible to them, for example online.
Some local businesses might be located in old buildings with steps, where it is not possible to add ramps, or the aisles might not be wide enough for wheelchairs (or even pushchairs).
Living out in rural locations can also make shopping locally difficult, especially if they do not drive, and public transport services are limited in their area.
Time Constraints
Try as we might to plan as much as we can, in advance, life is very rarely that easy. We’ve all become accustomed to receiving things very quickly through websites such as Amazon.
Sometimes, it could also be that people can’t get to local businesses during the hours that they are open, perhaps because they work, and/or have busy lives. Larger businesses, especially chain supermarkets and shops, are often able to open later than smaller businesses.
Of course, we all want to support local as much as possible, however we should never feel guilty when we are not able to, because it’s okay to buy your food from a supermarket, it’s okay to order that fancy dress outfit from Amazon, it’s okay to order those really specialised hobby products from a company in America if it’s the only place you can get it from.
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