Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the corner – November 26 and November 29. Deals are starting to roll out everywhere, especially from the big box retailers. With all of the hype, folks often forget the importance of shopping locally to support and help local retailers find success while benefiting their local economy. 

Even with the seemingly never-ending COVID-19 pandemic becoming less of a problem, local businesses are still finding it difficult to survive. “Shopping local and supporting your local businesses is crucial for our community,” says a post on the Hobbs Hispano Chamber of Commerce Facebook page. “Let us stand up as a community and help one another make it through these trying times.” 

Difficult Times for Local Businesses

According to Food Matters, Healthy Meal Preparation Service, co-owner Kimberly Montano, running a small business through the pandemic has been both difficult and rewarding. “Sales are declining, the cost of everything has continued to rise, and due to the nature of our business, some of our products have never been available at the wholesale rate. I’m also a new business owner trying to learn and do everything in my power to continue doing what I’m meant to do. It’s just not going so good,” Montano says. 

Montano is not alone in her sentiments. O&R Salon owner Cyndi Gonzalez says that to keep her “dream going”, downsizing has been necessary. “Nothing has been the same since COVID. People aren’t  shopping like they used to, and we hardly have any traffic and more days with no sales. Times are very hard right now for many owners unless they are filthy rich already.”

Hobbs Chamber of Commerce agrees with local retailers’ concerns and is vocal about it. The organization’s advertising campaign, “Think Outside The Box…  (The Amazon Box)” says it all. 

Spending Dollars Locally Creates Chain Reaction

When dollars are circulated in the community, they are far reaching. The chain reaction goes far beyond the merchant where those dollars were originally spent. 

Think of it this way. You spend a few bucks when you pick up your clothes at the dry cleaners. After eating out the owner of the cleaners tips the server at the corner cafe. The server goes to the neighborhood salon for a haircut and buys something at the local pharmacy. Both the salon owner and the pharmacy owner buy a special drink at the local coffee shop or a gift at the local baby boutique. The circle goes on and on. Many are helped, and local businesses survive. 

The longer a dollar stays and circulates within the community, the greater the economic impact on that community. Sending your money off to Amazon or even national chains such as Walmart or Family Dollar will see those dollars move out of the local community almost immediately.

According to an article at the NewMexi.co website, “each dollar you spend locally allows three times that amount to enter the economy at a local level compared to those dollars that you spend at larger chain stores.” 

Cyber Monday shopping is also very important. Almost 50 times more is generated at home “with each dollar spent at a locally owned online store than you do when you shop on a large online retailer’s website.” 

Shopping Locally Helps the Environment 

Shopping locally also helps the environment. What you purchase does not have to travel from far and wide to get to you. Individual goods travel less, meaning that less pollution is created and your carbon footprint is reduced. “On average, local store deliveries resulted in less than half as much CO2 being emitted from each item as deliveries from ‘online-only’ retailers and sellers, which deliver the items via package distribution centers,” states a recent article in The Science Times. 

New to Businesses in the Community

Now that the holiday season is approaching, think twice before going to a big box store or to shopping online with a huge retailer. Many options are available here at home. Take advantage of them. Keep Lea County dollars within Lea County. Help our local businesses grow and prosper.

A few local businesses have recently popped up. If you don’t already know about them, here’s a little information.

Central Alley in Lovington opened its doors in August. Located “behind businesses along Main Street between Central and Washington Avenues”, Central Alley provides an “alternative access for these businesses and a place for customers to park and walk while Main St. is closed or blocked off” during the US 82 reconstruction project. Easy parking and access will be a great help to locals, both businesses and residents, during the construction process. 

Locally owned Pharmacy 575 recently opened its doors to the Hobbs community. Being the southernmost pharmacy in Hobbs, the store offers unique gift items, as well as the normal pharmaceutical fare. 

Joseph’s Heartland is filling a special niche. Located in Hobbs at 3900 North Lovington Highway, area folks now have a place to shop locally for quality baby goods. 

A new service business has recently opened in Lovington. The Susana Arvizu State Farm Agency is located at 309 North Main Street with a full line of insurance and financial services.

In addition to these new businesses in the local area, there are plenty of home-owned staples that you can support while you’re doing your holiday shopping this year. The next time you open your wallet, consider the impact your dollar can have.