With Amazon’s Prime Days rolling through this week, the Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce (CKCC) urges people to instead look at purchasing from local businesses.
“For every dollar you spend locally, it can have an economic impact from $7-$10,” said Rory Ring, president and CEO of the chamber. “Wages are paid to employees and they then go out and use them to buy goods and services within our communities. It echoes throughout our economy. It’s the pebble in the pond. It can be very significant.”
Buying from a corporate giant, however, is akin to throwing that same pebble into an ocean. The ripple effects don’t reach Chatham-Kent.
Ring stressed small businesses remain the lifeblood of Chatham-Kent. And keeping that blood flowing helps us all.
“People often don’t consider the amount these entrepreneurs and small-business owners put back into the community. Whether it’s supporting a local dance troupe or a local hockey team or the hospice or the United Way,” he said. “All those things a small business can do make a difference in the community. It all results in the dollars being spent within the community.”
For people who now prefer to shop online, Ring urges them to check out local offerings.
“A lot of small businesses have done their own upgrades to conduct commers online as well,” he said.
And if they aren’t selling and delivering via online portals, many offer curbside pickup, something that began during the pandemic, but has continued for some businesses.
Ring added that local small businesses are still recovering from the revenue loss of the pandemic, face supply chain inventory challenges that have lingered post-pandemic, and now face inflation.
“We as a community can support them by seeking them out and taking in the products and services they offer,” he said.
