Walmart does have something to offer.
Despite the ire often directed at the super-sized retailer, Walmart and its big-box brothers do provide something attractive to shoppers: convenience, parking, low prices and the same products in the same spots, no matter which location you stop by.
The same can be said of almost all national chains, from fast food restaurants to home improvement stores. Above all, they are familiar and easy.
But you’ll never see one pictured on a postcard.
As we start a month marked by heavy consumer spending, it is important to reflect on how that spending effects the larger community, and how every dollar spent acts as a vote on what kind of businesses are wanted in that community.
The benefits of buying from locally owned and operated retailers are well established. Studies have shown that local stores recycle 2-3 times the amount of revenue back into their communities than national chains. One study, conducted in midcoast Maine, showed that 45 percent of spending at local stores stayed in the area, as opposed to 14 percent for chains. Other studies, both regional and national, back up those findings.
Locally owned stores also provide residents with more choices, and often offer products not found anywhere else. That is in stark contrast to chain stores, which sell the same items in Scarborough as they do in Birmingham and Phoenix.
Customers can also expect better service from local companies, and in many cases may know the owner, or at least be able to find him or her at the office. Locally owned stores contribute more to local nonprofit organizations, as well, just one way they are better connected to the community than chain stores.
But one aspect of the argument that is often overlooked is how chain stores can impact a community’s landscape.
National chains, and big-box stores in particular, typically dominate their chosen area, with large, loud buildings dropped in a desert of parking spaces. It is as much a land-use issue as an aesthetic one, as cavernous stores and endless parking lots are hardly the best way to utilize valuable property. In fact, because of the poor use of land, locally owned stores produce about four times the value per square foot of big-box stores. The larger stores also tend to utilize more services than their smaller counterparts. In fact, some studies have argued that big-box stores are a net loss, with the cost of providing services higher than the revenue generated through sales and employment.
Locally owned businesses tend to mesh with their surroundings, as well. They tend to share buildings with other local shops, often in a downtown area, creating a string of unique storefronts full of character, no small consideration in an economy fueled in large part by tourism. They allow a community to stand out from areas marked by homogenous strip malls and shopping areas that could be anywhere. In short, locally owned companies provide a sense of place and personality that is invaluable.
And that’s something worth writing home about.
Ben Bragdon is the managing editor of Current Publishing. He can be reached at bbragdon@keepmecurrent.com or followed on Twitter.
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