Our shop is lucky to be part of a strong buy local movement, and I can tell you that the support of consumers who want to help independent businesses survive in this tough economy has made a real difference in our store’s success.

 If you are not already involved in encouraging consumers in your area to support locally owned business, or if you’d like some fresh ideas to help you with your shop local campaign, help is now at hand. A new web site called the Independent Retailer Resource Center (independentretailer.biz) has just made its debut, thanks to the Gift and Home Trade Association.  

 GHTA is an organization made up of vendors and sales agencies in our industry, and this site is their gift to their customers.  The GHTA realized a few years ago that independent retailers do better when consumers make a conscious effort to support locally owned business, and that stores needed a way to let consumers know that they are indeed independents. (You might think that is easy to determine, but it isn’t always.)

 The IRRC site features two free logos for you to download and use, one with the clever Shop Outside the Box slogan, and the other stating that you are Proud to Be an Independent Retailer.  As you can see in the photo, there are t-shirts and many other items available with these logos on them, or you can download the logos to create something original.

 There are also links to dozens of helpful sites, including the Gift and Home Channel.  Many of the links are to organizations already doing excellent work in the Shop Local movement, and they are a good place to start if you want to join with your fellow business people to make the public in your city or town aware of all the many reasons that they should support locally owned independent shops — like yours!  

 

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder