Because so much of retail spending occurs during the Christmas shopping season, this is the time to remind people to try to do as much of their holiday gift buying as they can with their hometown merchants.
This flies against the growing trend of shopping online, where the benefits include being able to browse at all hours of the day or night, and not having to deal with crowds or lines.
Buying locally, though, is a good practice all year-round. If local businesses can’t make a profit, they can’t stay in business. If they can’t stay in business, our community suffers.
Even if it costs a little more than buying online, shopping locally is a good investment.
