Growing the local retail and service industry is an integral part of our efforts to expand the economy of eastern Kentucky. Not only does our chamber support local businesses, we are local businesses. The challenge of a buy local campaign is that the customer is always right. The challenge is determining why people choose to go elsewhere to shop. There are reasons consumers do not shop local; it is our responsibility as the business community to address and correct them. I believe most of that falls into three categories: price, product selection, and most of all, the experience. People want to feel the experience of the Christmas season and by working together we are making great strides in moving our communities in the right direction.
Our chamber serves a population of over 200,000 people and I believe our region has the population to support a serious retail industry. It will take multiple partners working together to transform our region into a destination; bringing people in rather than people leaving for goods and services. To generate economic activity and job growth you must do one of two things: either create a product or service that will bring money in from outside the region or redirect money that is being spent outside of the region, to being spent at home.
Consider this, if 20,000 people from eastern Kentucky visited Lexington this Christmas and spent an average of $500, that is a $10 million investment in the economy of Lexington. That investment is transferred from our economy to theirs; it is taken from our banks, our retailers, our service industry, and our economy as a whole. Also, that generates ancillary tax revenue, including local occupational taxes and property taxes, used for Lexington schools, roads, infrastructure, and new developments, instead of our own. The real issue is the statistic that says every dollar spent in a local economy turns over seven times. That means your waiter at Red Lobster takes your dollar in the form of a paycheck and spends it somewhere else in Lexington; this happens approximately seven times. That’s tough to measure. But coming from a background as an independent retailer, our business had six employees and we all got paychecks that we used to buy cars locally, borrow money locally, buy homes locally, shop locally; with a big percentage of those dollars staying in the community. My paycheck, my ability to own a home and provide for my wife and daughter, was your money spent here, instead of there.
In the words of Sam Walton, “There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” It is rare you will find a customer who will pay extra, to get a lower quality product, through a poor customer service experience just to shop local. A true reversal will not only include consumers realizing the impact their spending has on their neighbor and themselves, but it will take a combination of retailers identifying the correct product selection, being competitive on prices (lower margins typically means more turnover, and if done just right, more bottom line), and partnering as a community to generate the Hallmark Channel Christmas experience (live nativities celebrating Jesus’ birth, visits from Santa, wreaths, lights, bows, Christmas plays, parades, hot chocolate, and if the stars align, a dusting of snow).
The idea of shopping locally has typically been an idea of good will. But, we all know good will does not drive consumer behavior. Buy local campaigns have existed for years but often accomplish very little. Buying local has far reaching impacts on a community, and we are moving into a reality where the investment of our proverbial $10 million needs to be at home. The spirit of Christmas revolves around Jesus’ words “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. Buying local does not have to stop after Christmas and in fact, over the next year it will be more important than ever that we, as the community of eastern Kentucky, bind together and commit our support to one another
As a member of the Chamber, you are encouraged to participate in the “Shop East Kentucky” initiative by submitting a customized coupon or promotion for local customers. We believe that there is a serious misperception about what goods and services are available here in eastern Kentucky and that our members deliver quality goods, at competitive prices, while providing memorable experiences every day. These coupons and promotions are available at www.shopeastky.com. We will continue to promote these coupons year round.
We feel this provides our members the opportunity to cost effectively overcome two of the barriers preventing people from shopping locally, both price and product selection. The primary goals of this initiative are to strengthen and grow the local economy and to spread the word about the great, affordable, but often unrecognized products and services our local community offers. We are coming together as a business community, breaking down the barriers, and giving consumers the incentives they need to “Shop East Kentucky.”
