Let's Fix Retail....

After reading the blog of another retailer, I was inspired to write today about bricks and mortar stores and the effect online shopping has had on them.

The blog of C.C. on Whyte

If you get a chance, please read her post. It is most thoughtfully written.

This is the comment I left on her post about retail shopping:

Judy, you are such a caring person to write this blog post with us small retailers in mind. It is SO true that online shopping has forever changed retail. It would be such a shame if all of the individual boutiques closed for they add to the charm and aesthetic of a town or city. They are places like minded people can meet and chat. They are where you can be inspired to find something that evokes your true self….where you get to meet the person behind the curtain, so to speak. The person who put all their eggs in one basket to bring their customers a place to dream and to shop…to touch and feel the fabrics/surfaces and to see the inspired displays that hopefully, inspire their customers. Many of my customers have become my friends….including you! You can’t do that behind closed doors on a computer. Where’s the fun/adventure in THAT?

What's it all about? It's about disappearing retail stores, some that have been here since forever. Not the big chain stores....the smaller bricks and mortar shops that were lovingly created by individuals who had a vision that they brought to reality through a lot of hard work and long hours.

If we want our city to maintain a certain aesthetic and charm and beauty, part of that should always include the retail shops that line the streets in different areas.

When you  buy from a local entrepreneur's shop, you are helping to support them and their family and thereby keeping the local economy alive and vibrant. We are helping each other that way and not putting money in the hands of some unknown entity across the ocean that mass produces merchandise at an alarming pace. When you shop online, you are putting money in their pockets and economy while ours dries up...leading to fewer jobs, closed businesses and a depressed economy where WE live.

As one after the other stores are closing in Edmonton, we are losing something great. But if we all start shopping in our own communities and city, it could lead to a much improved local economy, a more interesting city and good things for everyone, like friendships. That's always a good thing.