Sept 8 Update: Shopping Local
By Sarah Dorset
Embracing this idea to shop 100 percent locally for the month of September really forces me to simplify our household. And pray that that no major home repairs are needed on a Sunday when most stores are closed!
To think about it, September is an easy month to shop: most back to school shopping was done in August, and most Christmas shopping is still a few months off. But you may be surprised to hear that my husband spent one day shopping locally for Christmas last year, and came away with some very good gifts! He will write about that later. My husband is a major player in this project, because he does like to cook on weekends and gets his groceries wherever it is convenient to him at the time. He had to make more of a conscious effort to grocery shop locally for our camping trip this Labor Day weekend.
A few comments I have received so far:
“You won’t find what you need!” My answer: Define NEED. The adjustment is not a big deal.
“There is a better selection at the larger stores.” Better? Don’t you mean INCREASED selection? The products locally are quality and name brands to select from. I don’t serve my family junk. My husband, the son of a grocery produce buyer and Tulsa’s best home cook, expects good meals, especially fresh fruits and veggies at every dinner, and he gets it. We have enjoyed great tasting grapes, strawberries, peaches, nectarines all summer. What the larger out-of-town stores offer is a bigger selection, and a more pleasing visual experience: cleaner, brighter, shinier store displays. I admit I am seduced, visually, by stuff on display that is fresh, new and plentiful.
“It is too expensive.” I am laying out all the ads in front of me, including out of town stores, and comparing. I am saving time and money. Not going out of town saves me $1.50 to $10 in gas money per trip, depending on how far north I go. Impulse buying is reduced and I spend less per trip. Do I really need 1,000 Q-Tips when less will do?
I will say, Oz stores could be cleaner and brighter and when it rains it pours, in some stores badly. Our local stores need to appeal visually and fixing those roofs needs to be done!
Cultivating customers with friendliness and helpfulness is a weakness of some local stores, but not all. If a store owner can find out what I need, and try to go the extra mile to help me get it, with genuine friendliness, then you have me captured. I have sometimes wondered if a local store even wanted customers to come back!
Next week: Adventures In OZLand in shopping for clothes.
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