'Shop local' push requires a unified effort
Friday, November 28, 2008 12:36 AM PST
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E-mail this articleNov. 28 Daily News editorial
The Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce and local businesses are banding together in an aggressive effort to convince residents to keep their shopping dollars local.
It’s an important campaign that, if widely successful, would boost the area’s economy at a time when it is very much needed.
Of course, convincing people to spend more of their hard-earned money at area businesses is no easy task.
With the Portland market and its broader selection of shopping options so accessible it will be tough to keep local shoppers from hopping onto Interstate 5 southbound. In addition, Oregon has no sales tax, making it even more of a lure.
But those challenges have always been there for local businesses. The businesses that have succeeded in the past and will thrive in the future find ways to do so through top-notch customer service, competitive prices, wide selection and unique products.
They get the message out that they are a great place to shop.
The payoffs of shopping local aren’t limited to the business owners. Sales tax revenue pays for services that make our community a better place to live.
Those tax dollars you’re avoiding by making a trip to Oregon or buying online could be going to fund our police and fire departments. They’re needed to maintain our parks and fix our streets. They keep our libraries open and much more.
The “Shop Local It Matters” campaign is certainly well-timed.
The economic uncertainty throughout the country and world has many people understandably nervous. Even people who have seen no direct loss of income and whose jobs are not immediately threatened are watching their money more closely.
They’ll still buy things, but they’re being more selective.
And that has exacerbated the problem. We are a consumer society and when we stop consuming a ripple becomes a wave of bad economic news. Already, local governments are cutting back to deal with the loss of revenue the economic downturn has created.
It takes more than telling people why it is important to shop locally. Our businesses need to convince them with strong marketing plans and innovative approaches to drawing customers into their stores.
For example, the annual Christmas Parade in Longview draws hundreds of people downtown. Too many businesses are closed during this great opportunity to boost sales. Not enough effort is put into making downtown stores a destination before, during and after the parade.
Local stores need to join together in expanding their hours during the holiday season. It isn’t enough for one business to put in the extra effort, it must be a unified approach. And they should not be closed on Sundays, a day many people use to make their holiday purchases.
Yes, shopping local is important in many ways. Making the “Shop Local It Matters” campaign a success will need to be a collaborative effort between businesses and residents.
We wish them the best of success.
cheney119 wrote on Nov 28, 2008 7:06 AM:
Bmoc wrote on Nov 28, 2008 10:21 AM:
questionman wrote on Nov 28, 2008 10:46 AM:
Does the GI Joe ad that runs weekly in TDN help people shop locally?
Does the criminal activity report that runs on page three of the TDN help people want to shop locally? And why are there five local newspapers that are eating up TDNs market share? Could it be that advertisers want to shop locally??? "
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