This holiday season, amid ever-growing competition with online retailers, small-business owners in Anchorage are encouraging locals to shop local.
Sixty-three cents of every dollar spent at a local business in the state stays within the local economy, according to a 2021by the University of Alaska Center for Economic Development. That’s compared to 23 cents when buyers purchase from a non-local business in town. When consumers buy from out-of-state vendors online, that number goes to $0.
“Not only can we educate and reach more people about the importance of shopping small, but we can also help promote smaller businesses much more broadly than they would be able to do on their own,” Bittner said. “That helps them add new clients, new shoppers, and generate more revenue right before the holiday season.”Many Anchorage small businesses agree that it’s become increasingly difficult to compete for consumers’ attention in a digital age of holiday shopping. But not all have needed to.
Customer service is another factor. Local small-business owners and managers say a customized, lived experience from a salesperson who shares a community — and likely a hobby —with their clients is an experience that larger retailers or online outfits can’t offer. Same goes for HoughtonHill, a boutique jewelry and homeware consignment store in Midtown. Owner Jessica Brunsting said she keeps a list of customers seeking specific items, and calls them when that item comes in.
Virginia Peterson, the founder of a women’s underwear-turned-athleisure company, SWOOP, sells her products online and through regular markets throughout the holiday months. She said in-person markets are a reliable method to set herself apart from other brands by getting to know her clients, and introducing them to the story behind her brand.
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