Editorial: When you buy local, you support small businesses and community

This week’s paper is a bit of an homage to local businesses, with our page 1A story about brick-and-mortar retailers and our Q&A on page 30A with Heather Givans, who owns fabric shop Crimson Tate: Modern Quilter.

And so it seemed an appropriate issue to urge readers to shop local this holiday season.

Of course, you can’t get everything you want from a local store. And online shopping isn’t just about spending money with huge companies like Amazon. As IBJ’s Dave Lindquist reports in this week’s shopping story, more than 60% of Amazon’s sales are made by third-party sellers—and more than half of those sellers are small to medium-size businesses.

Also, Amazon itself employs thousands of Hoosiers. So this editorial is not about why shopping at Amazon, Walmart, Lowes or any other retail powerhouse is problematic. Instead, it’s about why spending money in locally owned shops is also a great goal for the season.

Central Indiana is full of places to buy amazing gifts, whether your friends or loved ones are looking for something practical or they’re after something special. For ideas, you can check out IBJ’s Executive Gift Guide, which was published inside an IBJ issue last month. You can also find it online at IBJ.com/ExecutiveGiftGuide.

Almost everything in the guide was either manufactured in Indiana, made by an Indiana company or sold in a locally owned shop—in some cases, all of the above. Dozens of local retailers are represented, including The Cake Bake Shop, Easley Winery, eBoom Electric Bikes and Service, Charles Mayer & Co., Chatham Home, The Cigar Box, Roberts Camera and so many more.

Each of these companies has local owners, employs local residents and in many cases, carries locally made goods.

So does Crimson Tate, the quilt shop featured in The Last Word Q&A. Givans has turned Small Business Saturday into a huge event and has customers who set up chairs in the early-morning hours so they can be the first through the door for specials.

And you’ll learn about more local retailers in Lindquist’s shopping story. He talked with the owners of Decorate gift shop in the Mass Ave district, Rusted Moon Outfitters in Broad Ripple, Al’s Modern Clothing & Shoes in Castleton and Addendum Gallery in Carmel about how they compete with online shopping.

One key is great customer service. Another is the ability for customers to put their hands on the gifts they’re thinking about buying.

Most of those shops have a digital presence, as well. Amy Minick Peterson told Lindquist that about 20% of Decorate’s sales come from the store’s website. But local shops also rely on customers coming through the door.

As you shop during the holidays, find some local stores near you. Your purchases will help not only those owners but the communities in which they’re doing business. And you’re likely to find a gift that will please a friend or loved one, too.•

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To comment (or to tell us your favorite place to shop local), write to ibjedit@ibj.com.