December’s fires had a horrible impact on our Christmas shopping, and even our normal daily and weekly shopping patterns. Much has been written and reported about the big hits local stores took during the holiday shopping season as a result of the fires.
I’d like to add a note about shopping habits throughout the new year.
I have a retail store — Hook, Line & Sinker fishing center — and understand the problems. Here’s a surprising scenario I’ve seen play out numerous times:
A customer begins coming in less regularly, though often stops by for fishing advice, and with questions about where and when to fish for certain species. But he is buying less from my store than in the past.
He’s getting good service, but is not honoring that by shopping with us.
That customer has begun shopping online with the mega-stores. Even items we don’t carry in our store, we can usually order. But the customer found he could save a few bucks ordering online from the big websites and he couldn’t resist the savings.
Brick and mortar stores, especially in places like Santa Barbara, cannot meet the prices of the online super stores, but we do the best we can.
That customer may not have thought about his money leaving his own community and all of what that means.
He may not have thought about the financial health of his local stores that he depends upon for information and advice. He may not have thought about the local jobs his shopping habit change puts at risk.
Or maybe he did actually think about those things and just doesn’t care, because he could save a few schillings.
But here comes the kicker, so hang onto your knickers. He then brings his kids in to sell us Girl Scout cookies and products or magazines to help support his kids’ school sports team, or local private school, or junior sports league, or after school program.
This is where I begin to lose my cool — and I don’t lose my cool easily.
Does that customer think he can starve local mom and pop shops, and then send his kids in to ask for donations? Really?
My store and most mom and pop shops in town try to support community activities, organizations and kids programs, but it is becoming more and more difficult. In fact, some of our mom and pop stores are going under, and more will do so in 2018.
We’ve been told many times by kids coming in for donations that the big box stores, and even the medium-size chain stores, won’t even talk to them. All of those kids’ activities are supported to a great degree by local mom and pop shops.
I think it is fair to say that every buck a local shopper saves by shopping online instead of in local small shops ends up coming out of his kids’ activities because we are no longer able to support the community at traditional levels.
Are you that customer? Do you shop online, yet bring or send your kids or grandkids in to local shops to ask for support for their school and after-school programs or sports leagues? Stop doing one or the other. It’s your choice.
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
