NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 24, 2009
YOUR READERS DON’T CARE IF SHOPPERS LINE UP AT WALMART EITHER!
But your hometown businesses have real stories to tell and value to offer
CONTACT: Jeff Milchen, co-founder or Jennifer Rockne, Director, American Independent Business Alliance, 406-582-1255, Jeff@AMIBA.net
BOZEMAN, MT -- As reporters nationwide prepare for a vain attempt to make the annual “Black Friday” formula stories less painful than being trampled by a “doorbuster” shopping horde, the American Independent Business Alliance has some ideas for you. While more big box chains are shutting out photographers and limiting access for reporters to corporate spokespeople, your local independent business owners have local knowledge and insights they probably are happy to share.
Judging by the proliferation of grassroots “buy local” campaigns, Farm-to-Restaurant programs and other pro-local initiatives, more people than ever are thinking about the impacts of their purchasing decisions on their community and local economy. But it’s not just altruism at work. “More people are recognizing, in terms of overall value rather than mere cheapness, local merchants frequently beat both corporate chains and online businesses,” said Jennifer Rockne, co-founder of the American Independent Business Alliance.
AMIBA points to a growing body of evidence to support its position. The results of a nationwide customer satisfaction survey, published in the December 2009 issue of Consumer Reports magazine, once again showed that independent electronic retailers equaled or outperformed each of the 21 chains in the survey. Independent pharmacies, appliance dealers and others also have come out on top in head-to-head comparisons against their chain counterparts by the Consumers Union.
Despite the recession, a nationwide survey by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance suggested independent businesses may be faring better than chains as more people appreciate the benefits of doing business locally. As an increasing number of communities launch “buy local” education campaigns, Independent Business Alliances and related efforts, the ILSR survey of 1,142 independent retailers in January 2009 found that those in cities with such campaigns significantly outperformed the retail sector overall.
”Many of the business owners surveyed attributed their stronger performance to the fact that more people in their communities are seeking out locally owned, independent businesses,” noted ILSR senior researcher Stacy Mitchell.
AMIBA also suggest some questions for shoppers to consider in their holiday shopping decisions:
Do cheap products from big box discounters provide value if they don’t last?
How much more money stays within your community when you patronize a local independent business instead of a chain or online? (answer: about three times more, on average).
“As people are doing their holiday shopping, we hope they’ll look critically at the corporate advertising onslaught and the claim that big business provides better deals,” said Rockne. “When we consider the value of quality products, saving time, and the quality of our experience, we’ll often find our hometown businesses ultimately provide the best deal.”
Graphics available for this story:
Consumer Reports electronic retailers ratings
http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=db616335b5&view=att&th=1252c17f2dd4f717&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw
Graph of the ILSR 2009 holiday survey: http://www.amiba.net/images/charts_graphs/holiday_survey_1.2009.jpg
Holiday gift tag: “This gift was purchased for you from a local independent business.” http://amiba.net/images/gift_tag.jpg
The American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) is a national 501c3 non-profit organization helping communities to: launch and successfully operate "buy local" campaigns; facilitate group purchasing and marketing among local businesses, and; other programs to support community-based enterprise.
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