Canada follows the United States in many things, in culture and in relation to the economy, and the current push in TV ads is no exception, as “Black Friday” is the big deal this week, here in Canada as well as in the U.S., a result of their Thanksgiving holiday.
The trend of following extends also to the growing use of online shopping sites like Amazon, which seems to be replacing the good old-fashioned methods of shopping in person at the local store. There is even a commercial that promotes this as “off-line shopping”, and includes a line about saving on shipping charges (because there’s no shipping).
This would be a good trend to emulate, to try out “off-line shopping”, because unlike making a click with the mouse, you can actually experience “filling the cart” with a tactile choice of gifts while interacting with actual human beings as you look for deals and make your purchases.
The other aspect to “off-line shopping” is to support the local business community. These are comprised of hard-working men and women who have invested their lives and their capital into running a business that employs local people and pays taxes to the local municipality, quite unlike Amazon or Facebook, or any other online business.
Besides the economic impact that online shopping has on the local business community, there is another impact that people may not be considering.
Often, organizers for local fundraisers or charitable groups will pay a visit to local businesses for donations of money or of in-kind labour or products, and most businesses like to support these local causes. They often benefit people and organizations in Weyburn and area, and this is a way that local businesses can give back to the community.
The problem arises when these local groups are also going online to get their goods or services, because they are at a cheaper price than is possible at the local business or retailer, but they still want a donation for their cause.
The bottom line for those hard-working men and women who own and operate businesses here is, they are open and willing to support charitable causes, and to support the local economy with jobs and buying of supplies locally — but this is a two-way street.
Local residents need to know that every dollar spent here is recycled back into the community, and those businesses are only able to support the local charities or fundraisers as they are themselves supported in their businesses. The postal strike may provide an unwitting benefit here, as online shopping may be a challenge as far as delivering packages goes. So, try out some “off-line shopping”, and you may be pleasantly surprised by the results.
