Customer loyalty and the "local shop"

One factor in establishing attitudes about local shops is the fact that many of us live in places where few shops are locally owned and those that are most likely are franchises. These shops have little loyalty to their town or neighborhood, so their customers have little reason to believe their loyalty will be rewarded.

My local and locally owned camera shop serves an entire region, not just a neighborhood or a town. It sells into what is essentially a niche market -- people who know or want to know at least a bit about actual photography -- and stays afloat because enough people are willing to drive to get there. Ditto for my shoe store, where prices are high and the staff knows how to fit shoes. It's worth it to me to pay that premium.

Now, most everyone else is buying cameras and shoes at malls and discount stores. When those stores vanish, customers will just go down the street to another one. Neither side has any real expectation of loyalty.
 
You used to be able to buy shoes in a variety of widths. Now most places just stock "wide", and even mail order places like Bostonian, King-Size and L.L. Bean offer little choice in widths. It's not just camera shops that are sliding down the slippery slope towards "one size fits all".
 
Al, I have what a podiatrist once called unhappy feet. I spent a good chunk of my life thinking shoes were supposed to be uncomfortable until an injury got me into that podiatrist. Since then, I wear prescription orthotics and know exactly what kind of shoe I need. The trick is that only someone really knowledgeable about shoes can identify and fit those shoes. I can't just go into a cheap shoe franchise and buy the first pair that feel comfortable.

Ditto for photography. It's only when people begin to wonder if their vacation and kid pix might be better that they start asking the questions that might lead them to a real photography shop.
 
I believe in buying from a small local store for any product type. But I had a store that sold wallpaper, when customers could buy from a 800 number cheaper and not pay SALES TAX how can you compete. So buying local if you can, is a good for the community and your sole. But if you buy a Leica M9 for $7,000. and pay 7% sales tax. You think about buying from an internet store and not paying the sales tax. It.s hard not to buy from a internet store. I am grad that I am not in business any more. I feel sorry for all the small business in the world. (Walmarts of the World are killing the small business in the world)
 
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