It's been a long time, in internet terms, that I've updated our blog. The dust after the holiday season has settled, the floors cleaned of shred, cellophane and ribbon tailings and things are returning to normal (whatever that is). With a new year comes retrospect. In watching our 2010 holiday orders, a few trends occurred that I thought it would be interesting to share.
First, and most important, is a trend we hope continues. From our limited view, it appears that the face of retail business might be changing just a little. This is what I observed...
Our company spends money on internet advertising (as do lots of other small businesses). So, I watch the traffic to our site to see how well my advertising is working. This past holiday season, I noticed a trend. It appeared to me that local people were realizing they could make a difference by using their dollars to support small, local businesses. I saw this statistically as a definite and significant increase in people buying gifts filled with locally made products. As a numbers person, the evidence wasn't a teeny, suggestive difference but a rockin' definite difference!
Well, you can speculate about an informal survey like this, but its harder to discount if there is additional information. Local customers, whom I talked to when they placed a phone order, told me the very same thing. They wanted their money to stay local and they wanted to support small businesses! In conversations with local business friends, many told us they had heard similar. We hope that other small businesses around the country experienced the same. As consumers ourselves, we are VERY aware of how we need to tighten our belts and compromise to exist on a daily basis. It's nice to see that people are making a decision to support business at the local level and keep the dollars they earn as close to their own community as possible.
The second thing I noticed was that people that visited our website were more "intense" this year than I have ever seen. Every single one of our holiday sales were from someone who had been to our website at least once previously and spent time looking at our products. What this means to me is that folks are shopping more wisely. They are taking the time to research products, prices, shipping rates and who they purchase from. They are choosing to buy things that meet many more criteria than in the past.
In my opinion, one of the things that has slowly happened over time is that our mind-set has been unwittingly shifted. Most people find comfort in huge retail. They know exactly what they will find in any major big-box store that can be found within a 30 minute drive of any location; in any state. There is comfort in this and we all know that. Subconsciously, we also know that when we buy from these establishments, much of the money we spend goes elsewhere. Yes, some stays to pay the employees but much of it supports the nationwide existence of a retail giant and those that made it big; it's investors & stockholders. When we spend, we are constantly making these compromises. Perhaps, just maybe, our conscious is beginning to play more of a role when we spend.
So, is the face of business shifting a little more towards supporting small businesses? For personal reasons, we certainly hope so! And, after this past holiday season, we have a small bit of evidence to support this trend. We hope this is real, as do many small businesses I'm sure! I'm hoping that this small change is a ripple that continues to grow.
Think of the impact microbrews have had on the big beer industry. Big beer was very surprised when craft-brewed beers began to take over a significant share of their market. It wasn't a huge share but it was enough to cause big beer to take notice and even attempt to experiment with alternatives. Personally, I feel much better consuming a flavorful beer that is craft-brewed locally and made with hand-picked quality ingredients. Yes, I spend a little more but I get a better product, I support business locally and I keep my spending dollars in my community.
Life is about balance and about feeling comfortable with the decisions we make. With this new and dynamic economy that we are all a part of; willing or not, let's hope that Americans are redefining balance in a way that makes more sense.
Happy New Year all!
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