I like shopping at Dyson’s because I find that I can get what I want and be on my way without all the Lowes b.s. re: parking, walking, checking out etc. That Dysons’ is locally owned makes it a nicer matter but overall as Bob says in this article I’m doing convenience i.e. get in, get it and get out. This is from an article in Friday’s Enterprise by Bob Shaller the Head of St. Mary’s Economic and Community Development Department:
The 2010 holiday shopping season officially kicked off last week. We had Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday in rapid fire. Initial reports are mixed with Black Friday, showing modest increases over last year while Cyber Monday’s newfound craze to shop at your desk seemed to be strong, perhaps breaking $1 billion in single-day sales. Online merchants have figured out the age-old retail lesson: go to where your customers are, and today that’s at work. Going forward this tradeoff of time (getting up at 3 a.m.) for convenience (waiting until the first day back at work) will only become stronger.
While Black Friday and Cyber Monday are primarily for large, national merchants, the first-ever Small Business Saturday was for locally owned and operated businesses. The new Facebook page facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday generated more than a million likes in just a few weeks, perhaps a new record.
My wife and I visited Dyson’s Building Center in Great Mills for its sidewalk sale Saturday and the Dyson family was there in force greeting and serving customers. There were many items on sale or marked down. There was also one price that few, if any, national merchants really use: free. Yes, free, as in nothing, nada, please take it. Like at a yard sale by noon. Why? Excess inventory.
The difference between a local independent and a national merchant is that the local business has no district or regional office to rid them of any excess. In fact, in many cases a chain store’s floor and shelf space is tightly controlled by corporate. This is the economics of modern retail.
So what about the free stuff? Or the $1 or clearance bins at other hardware stores? It’s simply what you make of it. At some point these items are donated to the Habitat ReStore or other local donation center.
I reference Dyson’s as just one of several hundreds of local merchants that offer just about anything needed this holiday season, or anytime. A new “I Buy St. Mary’s” campaign was launched earlier this year to promote local, independent businesses. Go to ibuystmarys.com to learn more.