Do you shop local and support local businesses?

If so, which ones? 

Very curious to hear what people have to say. 

Do you just shop at big box stores or online?

Where do you plan to shop during the holiday season?

I do what I can locally, but the local boutiques really don’t fit the needs and desires of my tech-living, obscure-board-game-playing, budget conscious family. 

We have moved a good bit of our grocery business to Stop and Shop, do our car repairs, dry cleaning, pharmacy and gas runs locally, eat at local restaurants more often than not, buy housewarming gifts and some kid birthday gifts in town.  But clothes and gadget money is spent out-of-town mostly.  Books are a mix, but I’ll admit that I use amazon rather than special order locally.

Agree mostly with Susan, although I never buy gas locally.  Just too much less expensive where I work (usually .30 - .40 less than the exxon in town).  I have been to every restaurant in S. Orange and most in maplewood (and I eat out a lot).  Have gotten gifts at Sparkhouse and at Kitchen a la mode.   I download books onto my kindle.   Can't think of any men's clothing store in town (or a good place to buy men's shoes).  

I do use amazon over Home Depot, Target or similar because it is easier.  I almost never go to a mall -- and I feel that any time I can go a full year without stepping in a mall is a good year.  

To clarify, we buy a fair amount of our gas in town only because we are low mileage drivers with little automobile commuting.

susan1014 said:

To clarify, we buy a fair amount of our gas in town only because we are low mileage drivers with little automobile commuting.

yeah, I understand --- I drive 500 - 600/miles/month.  So it might only save $75.00/year but I just can't understand why the Exxon in S. Orange is often among the most expensive stations in the area.  The shell on parker is also less.  Got gas at Costco in Edison the other day and it was .42/gallon less than our Exxon.  

I also avoid tolls whenever possible such as cutting thru McDonalds parking lot to avoid the toll on the parkway and come home via Vaux Hall road.  Takes 3 minutes longer but since I have to do twice a week, it saves me $150.00/year.  

Back to thread --- I have been using the Rite-Aid on S. ORange avenue ever since they renovated the store.  And since it is so convenient I actually buy things there that I never use to buy in a "drug store" like ice cream, kind bars, etc.  

Seems like there are quite a few new stores in Map-SO. I have yet to go in them. Perhaps there should be sort of an open house day for stores so we can meander around. For instance  - the golf store. How does it work? How much to play,etc. The public needs to be aware. Then maybe there would be more local shopping.

There is.  American Express sponsors "Shop Local" day on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Most of my expenses in SOMa are eating out rather than buying things. I tend to prefer Maplewood village and S.O. center. I don't really do events like open houses, grand openings etc., if a place looks interesting, I'll check it out. For gifts I might visit Perch Home or Kitchen a la Mode, books/gift certs at Words. I do try to recommend local places in online forums.

Some new places can do a better job of using social media to announce what they are, when they are opening, provide a link to their website, menu etc., and if they have temporary hours during a soft open to say that. Online (particularly local FB group) I see a lot of questions about spaces being renovated, what is it going to be, when is it going to open, looks like they are renovating, etc., and it seems the merchants themselves should be answering those questions.

People will say we need more of this or that, but I do think there's a disconnect between high retail rents and actual demand, given competition from big box and online.

That is great to encourage small business shopping. Didn't realize American Express started this. So nice not to have to go to the malls.

boomie said:

There is.  American Express sponsors "Shop Local" day on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Do Maplewood or South Orange do anything for Small Business Saturday? Is there anything planned for this year? 

galileo said:

Seems like there are quite a few new stores in Map-SO. I have yet to go in them. Perhaps there should be sort of an open house day for stores so we can meander around. For instance  - the golf store. How does it work? How much to play,etc. The public needs to be aware. Then maybe there would be more local shopping.

The town I grew-up in always had an Open House evening around this time every year. It was a great way to encourage support of local businesses and introduce new ones to people who may not yet had a chance to visit. 

I've actually been encouraging the TPTB throughout different administrations for the past ten years to host an evening just as you proposed, but instead we get poorly attended multi-day events like SouthNext.

I think it was last year that on the AMEX site you could find local small businesses and get a discount on Small Business Saturday (ETA if you use your AMEX card at a shop on the list).

We eat in (or get take-out from) Maplewood restaurants at least two or three times each week, pick up a few things in Kings two or three times per month, and occasionally buy from Village Wine or Maplewood Liquors. Once or twice a year we might buy something at Kitchen a la Mode. Otherwise our shopping is done almost exclusively online.

For non-food sundries we would normally pick things up at Target. Food we would normally buy at Stop and Shop, Trader Joe's, Costco or City Supermarkets in that order of frequency. So some of this is local or semi-local, but not really any small businesses there. When it comes to liquor we're pretty good as we pretty much get all liquor/beer/wine at Morgan's. 

We eat out or order in what probably amounts to a few times a week. Usually in SO/Ma more often than not. And if not, usually not more than 1-2 towns away.

For toys, gifts, electronics it's almost strictly Amazon. While it's a great concept to purchase from local shops, the reality is that for a family with two working parents the convenience of being able to shop whenever, get it  done quickly and have access to a large variety of things Amazon.com can't be beat. I do sometimes miss browsing, and might make it into Sparkhouse, Kitchen A La Mode or Words maybe about once a year. Obviously, this isn't enough to keep it in business. I mean, I got bubble tea about three times a year and that place didn't last! I also conceptually like some of those 'gifty' stores in Maplewood, but there's a lack of practicality to most of what I've found in those that I don't know that I've actually purchased anything in them.

The sad reality is that local retail is more of a diversion or piece of performance art than an actual core part of my existence at this point. Someday it'll all be replaced by restaurants and I can sit in there eating a mean while shopping on my phone!

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wj6Q/american-express-2017-small-business-saturday

Maplewood has done Small Business Saturday for at least a couple of years.  You can find info on the Springfield Ave Partnership and Village Alliance websites. 

As for us, clothes at malls - food at Shop Rite in Union than City Market - gas at WaWa in Maplewood, Medication at Carolina Pharmacy in Maplewood, 99% of restaurants we order from or eat at are in Maplewood and Misc at 7-11 or Walgreens.

So,I would say most of our money is spent in town or next town over.

We shop for groceries at Ashley, Trader Joes, and sometimes Stop and Shop.  We eat out in SO, and get takeout from the trattoria in SO, and other places.  Prescriptions get filled at CVS--they're all over the eastern part of the country, so we can renew prescriptions anywhere.  We go to Costco for bulk non perishables, like toilet paper and soap. Almost everything else we do on line. mostly from Amazon.  I download books for my kindle, and buy my clothes from on line sites. We gas up the car wherever we are when we run low.

.

Try to do a lot of our shopping locally - Stop & Shop, Kings, Freeman's, Kokoro, Words, Bee & Thistle, 165, the kitchenware shop in South Orange, Village Coffee, Roman Gourmet, Village Trattoria, Mt. Fuji, Maplewood Grill, Wine Barrel, Blink Gym, the gas station opposite Dunkin' Donuts....I buy online, too, but figure if I like the convenience of great local stores, I have to support them as much as I can.

blitzed said:

boomie said:

There is.  American Express sponsors "Shop Local" day on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Do Maplewood or South Orange do anything for Small Business Saturday? Is there anything planned for this year? 

I understand So Orange is gonna be doing big things on Small Business Saturday..Stay turned!

My most recent purchase was via Amazon, but the product was made in M/SO.

librarylady - Saw you mentioned in N Y Times as well as your husband.

I shop online far too much, and I feel bad about it, but it fits my lifestyle. I've almost forgotten how to shop in person for some things such as clothing. But I need new clothes, and I don't know what to do now.

One exception is prescription drugs. I use my local independent pharmacy (Village Apothecary at Bleecker and W 10 Sts) where the workers and I know each other. They are terribly nice. I pay a big premium, because my insurance gives m a discount for using their mail order supply. My two reasons: 1. I like supporting this business, and 2. I have to pick up at the post office!

I try to do my book and gift "add on" shopping at Words. They always recommended great options for my daughter who devours books. She mostly gets books from the library, but we purchase the ones she really enjoyed, and also buy those books as an 'add ons' to other gifts for we give as birthday presents. They have a bunch of other fun things around to add to kid gifts, as (when I find time) I try to make the gifts a bit more interesting, especially for my kids' closer friends. The wrapping also can't be beat with colorful tissue paper and ribbons. (And they will put a gift reciept in the book).

Kitchen ala Mode is my go-to for some gifts for grown-up friends who are looking to replace/update some kitchen items, and I want a good recommendation.

We're starting to outgrow Sparkhouse, but it was a regular gift-buying location when my kids were younger.

Local restaurants frequently.  Zappos for shoes. Amazon for random items that I want to read reviews before I buy. We get a lot of hand-me-down clothes for the kids from cousins, so don't do that much clothing shopping (fortunately).

I used to be able to purchase all my gifts between the two towns, but many of those store are out of business now and my own circumstances have changed time-wise.  When we eat out or order in it is generally SoMap establishments.   I grocery shop locally.   However, Kitchen ala Mode is the only store where I regularly shop for gifts, unique items and my own cookware.   Other than that, I do a good deal of shopping on-line. 

I don't buy all of my books from Words but I try to buy at least one a month from them.  We buy many of our birthday presents from Sparkhouse and I like to peruse Kitchen ala Mode for gadgets.  We get our prescriptions from South Orange Pharmacy and see Dr Snyder for our health concerns. I don't ever eat out in SO where I live but I do regularly eat in MW.

blitzed said:

boomie said:

There is.  American Express sponsors "Shop Local" day on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Do Maplewood or South Orange do anything for Small Business Saturday? Is there anything planned for this year? 

I think there is a pop up shop being planned in Maplewood but my friend couldn't tell me any details on where/what time

blitzed said:

galileo said:

Seems like there are quite a few new stores in Map-SO. I have yet to go in them. Perhaps there should be sort of an open house day for stores so we can meander around. For instance  - the golf store. How does it work? How much to play,etc. The public needs to be aware. Then maybe there would be more local shopping.

The town I grew-up in always had an Open House evening around this time every year. It was a great way to encourage support of local businesses and introduce new ones to people who may not yet had a chance to visit. 

I've actually been encouraging the TPTB throughout different administrations for the past ten years to host an evening just as you proposed, but instead we get poorly attended multi-day events like SouthNext.

Hi Bltzed - shoot me a message and you, me and SOVCA can meet to go over your ideas.  It takes a village.  My email is scollum@southorange.org.  You'll get a response from me immediately.

Thanks,

Sheena

Oh and Blitzed - I hope you reconsider your choice of an avatar on these message boards.  It may give participants the false impression you're representing the village in some capacity and you're not.  Although, I appreciate you highlighting our beautiful village icon, maybe your own picture would be best.  

@Blitzed - Just checking in.  I haven't received an email from you and with the holidays approaching, I'd love to work with you and our Village Center (and perhaps include Seton Village and the rest of Valley) on your great ideas.  This is a wonderful opportunity for a partnership and to work with you on how to strengthen our business community.  My email is scollum@southorange.org.  Thanks.

Sheena said:

@Blitzed - Just checking in.  I haven't received an email from you and with the holidays approaching, I'd love to work with you and our Village Center (and perhaps include Seton Village and the rest of Valley) on your great ideas.  This is a wonderful opportunity for a partnership and to work with you on how to strengthen our business community.  My email is scollum@southorange.org.  Thanks.

There are none that cry louder than those not willing to work on changing things. Thanks, Sheena!