I was reading about some local policy changes intended to make running a small business easier and that got me thinking. I go to restaurants and ethnic food stores which are usually small businesses, and maybe some of the gas stations I use are small businesses too. However, everything else I buy comes from big-box stores or the internet. These have replaced a lot of small businesses, but how is it that there are any little shops left at all? Sometimes I walk into a corner store because I don’t want to go all the way to the big box store or wait for delivery but the prices are so much higher (often by over a hundred percent) that I walk right out again unless I need something very urgently.
I’m not making a moral judgement here. I just don’t know how the economics work out.
I try to do most of my shopping at small businesses and I almost never buy anything from the Internet. I find it’s usually cheaper when you take into account shipping and whatever fees get tacked on, and I also get the thing I want that day. I know I’m not getting scammed because I can see the thing in my hands, I know what I’m getting. The chain I go to the most is my grocery store. For eating out I go to a small locally owned restaurant because it’s about the same price or cheaper than the fast food.
I’m lucky enough to live in a city that has all this so I don’t look down on people who can’t access this stuff and have to buy online, but I do push people to at least but directly from people instead of Amazon. I’ve also never bought a thing from Amazon, ever.
I guess I’m an outlier but with where I live and what I want or need, it’s pretty easy to not buy from the Internet or big box stores.