Tip of the Month from Chamber Manager, Mark Drysdale:
Four Reasons to Shop Local this Christmas
From the latest kitchen or tech gadgets, to funky fashion, to the latest bestseller or for all the fixins for that big holiday feast – it’s all available in Ladysmith. Christmas sales can account for as much as a third to 50% of a retailers annual sales so there’s more reason than ever to shop local at this time of year. Here are the Top Four:
- You’re supporting the local economy: Money spent locally circulates in the community 2 or 3 times meaning for every dollar spent locally there is $3 of benefit to the community. According to David Boyle, a researcher with The New Economics Foundation, “Money is like blood. It needs to keep moving around to keep the economy going,” He notes that when money is spent out-of-town or in large multinational stores “it flows out, like a wound.”
- You’re helping save your community: By shopping locally you will help Ladysmith keep it’s character and eclectic mix of businesses as opposed to becoming a “cookie-cutter Main Street” with the same old mix of fast-food and retail chain stores.
- You might get a better deal and almost surely better advice: Getting to know your local retailer or service provider can have huge benefits. You’re far more likely to get a straight, honest answer (and maybe even a sweet deal) locally from someone you know.
- Could be you’ll find that quirky, one-of-a-kind gift you’re looking for: When it comes to gifts it’s a lot easier to find cool, quirky, one-off items in local, independent shops. Last Christmas I got my teenage son a unicycle from one of the local second-hand stores – he loves it (it nearly killed me) and you just can’t get much quirkier than that!