A sign in a window at a retail store in Del Norte, Colo., reads, “ONLINE SHOPPERS Please do not use our inventory and staff to help plan your INTERNET purchase. This activity ultimately hurts our employees, community, and our family by exporting funds out of the Valley. While prices and incentives from INTERNET RETAILERS are appealing, INTERNET RETAILERS do not support your community by creating local jobs, hosting community events and supporting local organizations and charities. Please help us to continue to provide great products and service to loyal customers here in our home …”
A local resident snapped a photo of the sign and shared it with The SUN this week.
We all make choices about where we invest our shopping dollars. What we choose to do, where we choose to spend our money, has a local impact, whatever choice we make. We can choose to support local businesses so a share of our money stays local and spreads benefits to our friends and neighbors. Or, we can shop online and send our money to benefit someone we don’t know in some distant place where we will never benefit from a return on that investment.
Can everything you need and want be purchased in Pagosa Springs? Of course not. But we do encourage you to give local businesses that first shot at filling your holiday shopping list by shopping Pagosa first — before you look elsewhere.
You can shop local and support multiple Pagosa Springs’ merchants during the 13th annual Parade of Stores, which kicks off Friday and runs through Sunday, Dec. 2.
There are 29 local stores participating in the annual event and many of them have placed advertisements that you can find in this week’s newspaper.
In addition to receiving great shopping deals from area merchants during the Parade of Stores, for every $10 you invest at any participating store, you will receive a ticket and be entered into a drawing to win gift certificate prize packages. The more you spend, the more opportunities you have to win.
This is the perfect opportunity for you to make it your goal to shop local. And, you will benefit directly from the personalized experience that you receive when you shop in a business owned by a friend or a neighbor.
Statistics indicate that for every $100 you spend at a local business, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. That investment has a big impact.
Spending locally instead of shopping out of town or online ensures that your sales taxes are reinvested in our community. Taxes generated by local businesses help fund projects in our community and essential services including education, law enforcement, fire protection, parks and recreation and more. Investing in our local businesses also creates growth in the community through additional employment opportunities.
There is a true ripple effect when you shop locally. Our business owners live here, play here, eat here and give back to the community through their time, talent and money. Pagosa’s charitable organizations and youth sports depend on donations from local businesses.
A community with strong local businesses is a more appealing place to live. The unique products that local businesses offer add one more piece to the allure that draws tourists to our community.
Saying you found a unique gift locally has a special ring to it. You are sharing the quaintness and charm of Pagosa Country with signature gifts.
We encourage you to shop Pagosa first — not just this holiday season, but throughout the year. The best advice and the best value most often comes from someone you know.
Terri Lynn Oldham House
