The Christmas shopping season has come and gone. How did the Barrhead businesses do during what should be the busiest time of the year?
Our merchants did indeed get their Christmas rushes. However the crowds came later than ever before. Two words have also been hovering in the air, a creeping threat to small town business success: online shopping.
Of course it’s easier to hop online for a gift. With just a few clicks your shopping could be finished, eliminating the need to venture out into the winter weather.
But every person who chooses to sit and shop in their living room, warm and toasty as it may be, is one less body browsing Main Street.
Are we choosing convenience over the needs of our local businesses? Will we eventually abandon the stores run by family, friends and neighbours, to fill an online shopping cart instead?
Of course, there will always be products unattainable in smaller areas. The desire to head to the city for a change of scenery will remain too. But so will the importance of shopping locally.
Christmas may be over, but there are another 11 months of the year that the businesses in town need our support.
Next time you’re shopping on the World Wide Web, stop and think: can I get this in Barrhead?
