Shopping local 365 days out of the year has reached a level of critical importance. We can’t allow ourselves to send money earned in this community to an online retailer where that money will never be seen by us again.
I have personally been disturbed by a holiday-related television advertisement by Amazon.
The advertisement basically shows an Amazon box coming to a family’s home and the mother of the family pulling all the gifts the family receives out of the box.
There’s no doubt many people have transitioned to Christmas shopping online, using Amazon, eBay and untold numbers of other online stores as their way of ordering gifts. This isn’t simply about picking on Amazon, but trying to get people to remember a way of life that has helped communities grow.
The convenience of having those gifts delivered right to the household door is intoxicating. Why take the time to shop by driving, visiting stores and, in some cases, paying taxes you can (illegally) avoid by shopping online?
The problem with this is if every gift, or all of the products we need, come from an online retailer, you will soon see no local retailers. Our stores on the Square in Monroe, along 8th Street and throughout our entire community rely on making retail sales for their income. They support their sales with local customer service.
Where does the money go when you buy gifts online? Unless the person manufacturing the product is local, the money you’ve spent on that product has disappeared from this place. It’s gone.
Meanwhile, where do dollars spent locally go? At the very least a portion of those dollars go to pay the wages of the people working at the retail store where you purchased the item. If the item you purchased is locally manufactured, not only do those dollars support those who manage and work in the store, but they support those who are involved in all phases of manufacturing the gift. Some online services, notably Amazon, does try to give back to local organizations through its “Amazon Smile” program, but it’s not the same as doing business and supporting a local merchant.
Since the 1990s, studies done by the University of Wisconsin system have shown that dollars spent locally in Wisconsin communities get turned over seven times before they leave a community. For example, a portion of a dollar spent at a local store helps the employee of that store make another local purchase, and then someone from that next business spends money on their local water bill, and that local utility spends money paying its employees, or paying for local services. This is how communities thrive.
Who gets asked to donate to fundraisers when someone is fighting cancer, or sponsors local youth sports team, or pays for memberships in local civic institutions and volunteers for them, or allows their employees to leave early so they can spend time volunteering? Your local merchants give back to their communities in endless ways. They’re hard-working people who employ others and give back to the community.
You don’t see photos of the folks running these online companies visiting our communities to donate their personal volunteer time and money to be part of our events and happenings. Some online services, notably Amazon, does try to give back to local organizations through its “Amazon Smile” program, but it’s not the same as doing business and supporting a local merchant.
If our holiday presents, or even our everyday consumables, all come out of a box from an online retailer, we’re destroying our community. If we don’t recognize these patterns, maintain local spending habits and understand what sending money out of our community means, we’re not protecting our future.
There are 20 days until Christmas, and while some people have taken advantage of Black Friday sales, they also have bought items on Cyber Monday. Please remember your local retailers all year round and in these weeks leading up to the holidays. Our future depends on it.
— Matt Johnson is publisher of the Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.
