Jefferson City residents have disparaged the recent announcement that Sears and Kmart would close their local stores.
Our city seems to have been hit hard, as these two stores followed other prominent closures: Hastings, Barnes & Noble and Mosers, to name a few.
While these businesses have closed their doors, others have opened or announced that they will soon.
Some of this is the natural ebb and flow of business. And some of the closures reflect a changing society.
It used to be that children eagerly anticipated getting their hands on the Sears catalog to study the toy section before the sitting on Santa's lap with a wish list. The catalog itself reflected the times, and now Sears, like many other stores, is suffering from changing times.
One obvious factor is the internet. It's forever changed the old-school business model.
What can be done to minimize the shuttering of local businesses in the future? There's no magic bullet, but for consumers, there is a way you can help: shop locally. You vote with your pocketbooks, so do your best to support local businesses.
After you try on that new outfit, don't drive home and get online to save a couple bucks. Purchase it the old-fashioned way: at the store.
Local stores are the ones that contribute to the local tax base, and thereby fund local schools, libraries, roads, etc.
For businesses, the internet revolution means they need to focus on what they can do better than their internet competition. For one, that means customer service.
It's been said over and over, but it bears repeating: Customers like personalized service, and they'll quickly learn to gravitate to the businesses that offer it.
Many of our local businesses get that.
Other ways local businesses can attract and keep customers is by offering interaction with products/services, food and drink samples, sell unique products or services, offer regular trial runs on new products, get an online presence to complement your brick and mortar store, engage customers through social media, or catalogs, or both.
Another issue that the Missouri Legislature needs to address is the leveling of the playing field when it comes to sales tax collection. More on that later.
Do you know of success stories of small businesses taking on the big online retailers and winning? Let us know at [email protected] or 761-0246.