12/30/2024
This👇👇😥😥
THIS look is sadly trending...
Do you know why???
Because to many people are making
all their purchases online.
One of my retail friends is closing her shop in Grafton forever. Goodness Gracious will have its last day open tomorrow. (Sunday) This makes me incredibly sad. 🥲
Julie, the owner of Goodness Gracious, was full of heart, s***k, faith, fun ideas, collaborative events with other retailers and so much more! She went on buying trips to find great stuff for her customers. She went to trainings and classes to learn how to be a better retailer. She did everything she could to be the best for her customers.
Does she sound a lil like me???? Yep.
Owning a small business is hard work Every Darn Day! It's a passion but there's many highs and lows that come with it. Online shopping has gotten out of control. Don't get me wrong, we all buy a few things online BUT when you'd rather sit in a chair at home to shop than going out to a local store... what do you think is going to happen? Heck, even Big Box Stores are feeling it and some are closing.
I'm so proud of the relationships we have with our Etc. customers. I'm proud of the customer service that we provide that is almost extinct these days. I'm thrilled that we still care about people. We don't push anything on anyone. We want you to feel great about your purchase and walk out with confidence. We're honest, friendly, fun, relatable , reliable, respectful and fair.
Imagine if one buy one, all the shops in town closed their doors. All the mom n pop restaurants closed too. Can you see that image? Can you picture the emptiness? It's not pretty and no one else will try to open in those spots because they can see that there's no traffic. There's no customers.
Small businesses don't pull the big sales numbers like the big online companies BUT I'd say WE try harder. We give more! We give when you need donations. We give of ourselves when you need workers for an event. We actually Love what we do but we cannot continue unless we have a regular, steady flow of customers buying.
I personally feel immensely blessed with the customer base that Etc. has. Our customers loyalty and their support, warms my heart. ♥️ Everyday a new customer stops into Etc. and we treat them with the same respect we have for our VIPS. No one cares more about their customers than a small business. I have called customers when something comes in that I think they'll like. I see customers out and we have great conversations. When I'm at trade shows I even think about my customers and pick merchandise according to their likes. I guarantee the online stores don't have you in mind at all and they will never call you, ask about your daughters wedding or even learn your name.
Please Hear this... When you shop online, not one penny comes back to your community. When you buy local, that money goes into a local landlords rent, local utilities, local staff paychecks and more. Most of that money stays here. It keeps your community alive!
Please, Please, Please consider shopping with us lil guys, the small businesses in your community. It's really up to All of us to keep our communities strong and vital. 2025 is almost here! Let's all make a conscious effort to shop in person or at least call a local store to see if they have what you're looking for. They will be more than happy to help. In fact, if we don't carry it, we usually let you know of another local shop that does.
The closing of another small business hit me hard tonight. I know, with some work, that we can turn this sad trend around and rejoice in the spirit of community again. Thanks for reading this and I hope it gave each person a spark to reignite small businesses. ♥️
