![]() ![]() Instead the pronouncement should be "shop at good shops," or "shop at shops that give you what you want and how you want it." Guilt about not shopping locally and feeling good about the idea of shopping locally is practically the only value proposition offered by local stores. This is practically mindless - this "shop locally" pronouncement. I sometimes hear as many as one or two segments on each news broadcast that interject how important it is to shop locally. When I happen to sit down at a friend's or relative's home where the television is on, especially at this holiday time of year, I hear public service announcements about how important it is to shop locally. I am sure I can rather quickly adapt to a business district concept that looks different than what I am used to. Also, while a minor added value, it is visually appealing to have an active business district. If one can restrain oneself for an hour or two and not have truly immediate gratification, then Amazon, all things considered provides a far more valuable shopping experience to me than a local mom and pop on virtually all products. ![]() With Amazon's same day delivery, it is already barely more immediate to shop for most things locally. It feels nice to have it in my hand ten minutes after I decide that I want it. I like shopping locally because it is nice to have an item that I want in my hand before I buy it so that I can look it over. Shopping locally generally offers me only one added value - immediacy. The moral thing is to help bad local businesses go under by not patronizing them, and therefore helping to clean out that detritus that takes up valuable local brick and mortar space.Ĭonfusing charity with shopping, confusing philanthropic activity with consumer activity benefits no one but the mediocre shop owner. They are partially propped up by the guilt movement that encourages consumers to disregard all other benefits in favor of having the opportunity to shop locally, a movement I find misguided at best, more often ill-informed, and often enough willfully ignorant and therefore blatantly deceitful. Not only do I not feel guilty for not patronizing these mediocre local businesses, it makes me sad that they even exist. By even being in existence they take up valuable real estate that can be used by others seeking to innovate the local space, to provide a better consumer experience, and to develop a better use for that local space. The sooner they go out of business the better. To the contrary, I hope most low value shops like that go out of business. I don't feel like I'm contributing to my community by shopping in such places. It is an unpleasant experience with an unhelpful, or sometimes even rude and unknowledgeable salesperson. When I step foot into a local shop, all too often, I find nothing remotely of value to me. ![]() This is in sharp contrast with the average "mom and pop" shops. I use Amazon because Amazon is exactly what I want at that moment. ![]() There are no online ads pointing out how immoral it is of me to shop anywhere that isn't Amazon. There is no guilt campaign from Amazon, there are no protestors outside my house convincing me it is bad to shop anywhere but Amazon. When I want that, it feels great to turn to Amazon and get that, and to get it exactly as I expected, and to, often enough, be surprised by an experience that is even better than what I expected. When I shop at , I get a wide selection of goods, at a cheap price with both the ease and occasional difficulty that comes with shopping online. I go there because they are better than anyone else at providing for me as a consumer in the ways that Walmart is so proficient in providing for me. When I step foot in a Walmart, I go there because that is exactly what I want. There are no protestors outside my houses or outside other stores convincing me it is bad to shop anywhere but Walmart. There is no appeal to me about how bad of a person I am if I don't shop at Walmart. When I walk into Walmart I know I will be able to get a wide selection of products, I will be able to get them cheap, and I will be able to get them with very little customer support or hassle. If guilt is the best you have to offer a customer, you probably don't have that much to offer a customer. ![]()
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