Page 25 - BusinessWest November 14, 2022

Local Call
Shop Local
Michelle Wirth, left, with Lexi Walters Wright, owner of High Five Books, one of the many area companies now showcased on the Feel Good Shop Local platform.
The Holidays Bring New Emphasis on Buying into — and in — the 413
IBy George O’Brien
f anyone needed any proof concerning the importance of buying local to the regional economy, Michelle Wirth said, it came during the pandemic.
As consumers were forced to shop from their computers, except for what they could find at the supermarket or the big-box stores allowed to
stay open, they resorted to Amazon and, for the most part, the national brands with which they were familiar.
As a result, a good number of smaller retailers were just not able to carry on and had to close their doors, putting some people out of work as they did so. Many of those storefronts are still vacant, impacting vibrancy on Main Street — and many other streets as well. Meanwhile, the jobs created by those stores, and the local spending generated by them — on everything from marketing to signs; electricity to office supplies — have been lost.
“During COVID, all of us were relying on online shopping more than ever before — we were relying on Instacart or some of the big names, Amazon, Nordstrom’s, L.L. Bean, Walmart ... and when we could finally raise our heads and we were comfortable leaving our houses and driving around the neighbor- hood, I noticed that a lot of the stores that I had frequented prior to COVID were closed or closing,” said Wirth, who said this harsh reality was one of many factors that led her to launch Feel Good Shop Local, or FGSL, as it’s called, an
“During COVID, all of us were relying on online shopping more than ever before — we were relying on Instacart or some of the big names, Amazon, Nordstrom’s, L.L. Bean, Walmart ... and when we could finally raise our heads and we were comfortable leaving our houses and driving around the neighborhood, I noticed that a lot of the stores that I had frequented prior to COVID were closed or closing.”
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