Worcester Business Journal

6 Worcester Business Journal | November 25, 2024 | wbjournal.com PHOTOS | ERIC CASEY Where U.S. consumers plan to do their holiday shopping Venue 2018 2024 Online 55% 57% Department store 55% 46% Discount store 51% 45% Grocery/supermarket 44% 46% Clothing/accessories store 33% 31% Electronics store 24% 19% Local/small business 23% 23% Craft/fabrics store 17% 16% Source: National Retail Federation Winter Holiday Consumer Survey (2018, 2024) BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Managing Editor I n a day and age where an entire holiday season's worth of gis can be purchased from Amazon or other big retailers in less than an hour from the comfort of one's smartphone, local shopowners have to go above and beyond to woo customers into their stores. With the nearing of Small Business Saturday, an unofficial holiday slated for the last Saturday in November and created in 2010 to offer a counterpart to the more corporate-focused days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Cen- tral Massachusetts' small retailers are finding ways to encourage customers to do their holiday shopping locally. While Central Massachusetts was once the home of multiple organized shop local movements, those efforts have since dried up. But despite the lack of an organized movement, small re- tailers from Worcester to Fitchburg are still urging customers to forego relying on massive corporations to conduct all their holiday shopping. ey may lack the capital and market control of some of their big-box and online competitors, but local retailers are using their community connections, first-hand experience with their prod- ucts, and the help of modern technology to make their presence known. Local First movements In 2007, realizing the days where they could rely on a steady supply of foot traffic and window shoppers were gone, local retailers banded together to form Worcester Local First, an initiative to en- courage local buying, which grew to 200+ businesses. eir efforts spawned a similar effort in northern Worcester County in 2008, dubbed Fitchburg Local First. Sustaining the movement proved more difficult than starting it. Kristen Sciascia, the owner of Worcester-based C.C. Lowell Art Supply Co. and a one- time chair of Worcester Local First, said balancing running the businesses and the organization became too much of a challenge for organizers. e dissolution of Local First organi- zations doesn't mean there's zero voices urging shoppers to think local; the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce has a Gi Local Gi Card, which is available for purchase for use at a number of area businesses. Amazon's impact Still, the ever-growing influence of massive e-commerce platforms is tough to ignore. In the years since the region's shop local movements have fallen by the wayside, Small Central Mass. retailers are using community connections, product knowhow, and modern tech to claim their share of the holiday shopping rush Keeping it LOCAL While its location in the city has changed over the years, C.C. Lowell has operated in Worcester since 1852. Concrete Collection is one of a handful of retailers trying to bring life back to the former Midtown Mall.

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