Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Independent Retailers Making A Comeback? Survey Says.....

 
 
 
 
 
A recent survey done by the Institute Of Local Self Reliance says that sales at independently owned retail shops were up by 8.1% in 2014. Holiday sales were up by an average of 4.2% (5.7% for those communities with a vested Buy Local program), beating the performance of many national chains and coming in well ahead of the 0.9% decline in December retail sales reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
 
 
 
 This bodes well for the future of independent retail, and, as one of our fellow retailers put it "people are getting sick of crappy service and cheap quality products in chain stores." While we won't go so far as pointing fingers, I think you'll find that locally owned, independent businesses are naturally more friendly than your average big box store. 
 
This is much food for thought, especially as we steer our communities toward the future. Let us know - when/where was the last place you received quality service and product? Was it a big box store, a multi-national corporate store or restaurant? Or was it in a small, locally-owned business or eatery? Why was the service different, and would you prefer to see more of this kind of interaction? We'll revisit this subject when replies have been tallied, and we thank you for your participation!