It’s a strange situation that we find ourselves in at the moment… the world we know is having a bit of a blip and its quite unnerving. A while ago I wrote a blog about shopping locally and I thought it might be a good idea to publish it again to try to help those people that are going to be staying local, shopping local and hopefully feeling local. Some of the points I raised are probably not going to cover our current extenuating circumstances, but others will still support customers. The points I would like to add to this blog are included at the end.  

April 2015 

**In the UK we have been witnessing a lovely resurgence in the local shopping experience. This has been lovingly and loyally supported by our biggest community institution, the WI, with their ‘Shop Local’ campaign ‘SOS for High Streets’ launched in 2014. Here at Longridge Haberdashery we have been graced with a steady stream of new customers over the last 3 years and locally our business group has added a town-wide shopping loyalty scheme that has been received really well by the shoppers. 

Whilst this situation helps develop a great shopping experience with both retailer and customer, it also brings with it a whole range of more challenging issues that can frustrate everyone! I think that many people are out of practice when it comes to local shopping in small businesses. We have been provided with fantastic shopping experiences over recent years from supermarkets to online stores. We have 24 hour delivery for products that are coming from massive warehouses full of wondrous technology. Customer Services that can be contacted deep into what would be classed as unsociable hours are commonplace on the paper information that comes with our orders. Items can be ordered and delivered ‘Postage FREE’, in bulk and from anywhere in the world. 

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So – lets just look at this from the ‘local’ and small business persepective… 

• Opening hours – this has to be one of the biggest organisational and frustrating aspects of shopping for anything. Customers work long hours, they often work shifts. In fact some customers experience this directly as they work shifts in large retail businesses. The small retail business in many instances are run by a family or a sole trader. They will open their doors to the customers during traditional opening hours of 9 – 6pm – or thereabouts. Why is this? This is when the bulk of their customers will come in to shop. “What about the workers?” I hear you shout… well they are also workers, and often the only ones working in that establishment. They need to go home, to look after family, to shop for their own needs…. They will endeavour to open later at seasonal times such as Christmas and maybe if they are in a tourist area use some seasonal opening times – it just needs a little time management from everyone…. 
• Payments – we live in a plastic society, our money is mostly invisible; it comes into our bank and out of our bank without even touching our purses and wallets. What is money? Money does make the world go around its true – however for small businesses money needs to be real. It needs to be visible and accountable on a daily basis. We have items for sale from 5p to £70 and it is frightening how many people do not understand that a card payment cannot be reasonably offered for a very small purchase. I dont think many people realise how much the processing of card payments costs. The amount of money in transactions that are being processed from large corporate businesses is so vast that they can negotiate their charges – even have them removed in a lot of cases. The large stores do not want the cash hanging around the building – it is safer to have an invisible transaction. For the small retail business however things are very different. We pay for everything… did you know that we pay for our change for the till? Did you know that we pay rental for the card processing machines, as well as paying for each transaction? Did you know that we pay to bank our money in the banks? We pay more if we go to the counter and are offered a cheaper rate to ‘post’ our money to central services that the banks use. When you want to purchase something for £1 on your card the large companies will ask you if you want a cashback added to get rid of the real money… we will likely decline to take the payment as it will cost us more for the transaction than we will receive for the goods. It just takes a little planning from everyone… 
• Stock – how wonderful it is to walk along vast aisles of products that have been arranged in an orderly and clinical fashion to speed up our shopping experience. To gather our purchases into our baskets or trolleys in the knowledge that we have had every choice available and have fulfilled our weekly requirements quickly and without having to miss out. If a particular product is not available then chances are your choice is enhanced by the same product from different companies being available on the same shelf. Hmmmm – not much fun though… It is lovely to be able to purchase 20 loaves of bread because you are taking a group on a picnic or having a party – did you know the local bakery can also provide you with the 20 loaves – and might even do a small deal – if you give them a little bit of notice? The large craft stores provide a fantastic range of products but then – how frustrating that the ordering is done centrally and that they are not going to get another bag of that wool so you can finish your jumper! The small retailer is often happy to make sure you get your products – the biggest difference is that it cannot be done in 24 hours. We need to have minimum orders with suppliers before they will send out an order. We pay for carriage in a lot of instances and we cannot get just a couple of balls of yarn that you need – we need to order sensibly. It just takes a little planning from everyone… 
• Service – with a smile? A small business is very visible to its customers. When you dash around the supermarket chances are the only time you interact with a member of staff is to ask where the store has moved a product to! You might get a short conversation with the cashier as they try to smile and make your shopping experience a little more enjoyable – oh but you are in a hurry, not impressed with the chit chat as they whizz your items down the shute. The store is busy and they open up more tills – or you choose to opt for the completely impersonal option of the self serve tills… When you shop local the smile and chat are a large part of the service. You are trapped! There are no extra tills to open – there is probably no-one to man them if there were… The small retailer enjoys giving a more interactive experience to its customers. We like to share our knowledge and advice for product use. We like to answer questions about skills and techniques… oh but you are in a hurry! Hmmm It just takes a little patience from everyone… 
• Response – I think that everyone at some point will have asked a question of a retailer or ordered a product that is needed for a project. In a large organisation there is probably a system where the information is placed onto a form then passed down a processing line to a person that will respond. With a small business there is probably a system where the question or the order is placed onto a form and then passed to a person…. oh yes – they are that person! That person that will need to go to the children’s school play that night, after they have made tea, got the family ready and once home from the play – after a full day in the shop – will sit down to update the books, count the money, sort out the stock orders and probably need to sleep but will not be in bed before midnight! If your response is not there in 24 hours… there may be good reason… It just takes a little organisation from everyone… 
• Support – This is were the small business excels! The larger stores have lots of staff but they may not necessarily have the quality. In lots of instances the small retail business will have people working that have knowledge and experience. They can help you get started on a project, pick the correct tools and resources, explain the task instructions, work out problems and probably know your name! They will want to see you finished project – they are interested… It just takes a little determination from us all… 
• Prices – I place this subject a little further down the list than you might expect but here is why – I know that there are goods and services out there that are cheap and effective. There are stores for everything ‘budget’. They have their place in our shopping plans, it is always lovely to get a bargain. The larger businesses have the ability to buy in bulk – and we know that is better for costs; but also they over buy which gives us even more opportunity for bargains when they sell off surplus stock. The small business does not often have a reasonable chance of buying in too much bulk. Their prices however needs to remain competitive. The internet is not always cheaper – if you look at postage etc. The small business cannot necessarily negotiate cheap postage. They do however stock items that are relevant and of good quality. Recently in our local area we had a retailer that closed his doors for a final time because he was fed up of permanently having to re-price products  as customers asked for discount so they would buy from him and not online or in a larger store. We need to earn a wage – if a product is discounted you can bet that it is already priced with the smallest of margins and that margin, after the tax and the VAT and other overheads have had their bit is our wages. It just takes a little respect from everyone… 
• Variety – This is definitely an issue for a lot of people. We love to have choice, variety and we want it quickly – but I think this is something we can control very easily. It’s like the strawberries at Christmas scenario. Sometimes the small space available means you have restricted choice, however often the alternative options are available. They may be in the small storeroom as there is no space, or maybe they have the chance to add them to a next order. Talk to your local shops, tell them the types of choices you need to make. At midnight, after a long day, when you are choosing colours of buttons the decisions can be made without much reasoning as the energy is waning. It just takes a little communication from everyone…