Approximately 543,000 new businesses are created each month, adding to the 28 million small businesses that already exist in the United States, according to Jason Nazar of Forbes.
As small businesses multiply and take pride in their hard work, the average consumer is beginning to take pride in “shopping small.”
“I remember the day that the new mall opened in Morgantown,” said Jillian Kelly, a local small business owner.
To Kelly, a mall is overpriced, oversized and full of shops selling commercialized products that do not benefit the consumer at the end of the day. That was the complete opposite of her small business mission.
“Many small businesses downtown get their items locally or from independent artists,” Kelly said. “Shopping small and local should be an easy, obvious choice for many.”
Kelly is the owner of “Retrotique,” a fun and colorful boutique specializing in vintage clothes and records. Ever since she was a child, she was determined to open a store “where anyone could stop in and find something they liked.”
The small business throws away the faceless, artificial air of big corporations and replaces it with something much more human. It makes shopping friendly and warm.
Kelly said she has noticed a ramp-up in support for small businesses, especially around the holiday season.
“People say they don’t want to go to the mall,” Kelly said. “I think people are tired of all that.”
The popularity of the small business has grown seemingly because of a raise in overall social awareness in today’s society. Supporting fair trade and hard-working artists over the unfair labor of big corporations has become the ethical thing to do.
“I hope this is just the beginning of a long-going trend of support for small businesses, especially in West Virginia,” Kelly said.
Shopping small allows consumers to support someone’s dream and talent while simultaneously supporting ethical trade; it is the best of both worlds.