With the news displaying negative results for most retailers over the dismal holiday season, one wonders how the little local retailer is doing. December forecasts were dire: Gap was down 14%; Neiman Marcus down 28% and even Wal-Mart which appeared to be drawing in more and more price conscious shoppers was only up 1.7%. 

So what about your local retailer – the ones that know you and give you that extra customer service? Yes it comes at a premium but it feels so special – so community, so village. Losing that personal touch would be such a shame.

We have lost much of our quirkiness in Main Street USA – the mom-and-pop stores have all but disappeared. Now every main street sort of feels the same – we have the chain retailers such as Macy’s, Banana Republic, Pottery Barn and so on. These are great stores but they lack the personality of our local retailers.

There is no reason not to support your local stores in addition to being a savvy, cost conscious shopper. We can all combine our purchases – big items at the Targets and Wal-Marts and the smaller, more frequent purchases at the local retailers. Retailers can learn how to address the competition from these larger stores by attending seminars local, along the lines of how to compete with Wal-Mart. The large stores bring much to our lives in terms of choice, price and convenience, however there are many items a local store owner can expand into that provides the shopper with a local flavor and uniqueness not found at the larger chain stores.

I find these local stores are a treasure trove when looking for those special gifts for friends and family: these purchases convey a higher level of thought has been put into selecting that special gift.

So don’t forget your local retailer – we’d hate to lose those small merchants in these difficult times.