Why I Believe in Main Street

As we head into Thanksgiving, I am thinking ahead to the next, most remarkable of new holidays: “Small Business Saturday.” It’s gotten me thinking again about my decision to break ranks and hang the proverbial shingle on Main Street. I’ve told the personal story enough lately. But what about the business rationale? Admittedly, this was as much an emotional decision as it was a deliberate business decision. But I really hope I didn’t throw out all those business school lessons when deciding to head down this path of small business and small-town retail.?

So, here are my top 4 reasons why I think it will work out. Not just for us (fingers crossed) but for so many of the small businesses that have committed themselves to downtowns across the nation.?

1) We’ve missed Main Street.?Even before the pandemic, we’d grown tired of the mall. And now,?after?sticking to our home turfs for months on end, we are ready to get out and hit the town -- our towns. Longer term, according to a recent??McKinsey study, expectations are that 20-25% of the workforce will work remotely at least 3 days a week. Combining this with the expected reduction in business travel means more of us will be spending more time in and near our homes.?That means more people, spending more time, on our Main Streets.

2)?Experiential is the new normal.?Everyone’s been talking about ‘experiential retail’ for a while now. We’ve had book readings and holiday strolls in our downtowns for years. But now that more communities and business owners are leaning into developing and supporting pop-ups, food trucks, workshops and events, there is a real draw to Main Street that goes beyond shopping.?Main Streets feel vibrant and alive. And because of that, true community connections are created.?

3) We want to?see and touch and feel.?There was a time when many of us were buying everything online. But at some point we’ve all had the experience of that online purchase not being *quite* what we’d hoped for. And the fact of the matter is, somethings are just better bought in person. We sell furniture in our small shop – sofas and chairs, a few side tables – and we often hear customers talk about how nice it is to SIT in the sofa. To touch the table. To see it in person.

Even books, a category long thought permanently?shifted?online, has swung the other direction. Independent bookstores have grown in number by 40% over the past 10 years. And, according to the US census, independent booksellers saw 30% sales growth in the 1st?half of 2021. That is demonstrable proof that small town stores, with thoughtfully selected products, and great community engagement, can thrive.

4)?Ecommerce is Local.?For a couple hundred dollars a month, we can all do business online. And while some Main Street businesses may still be bogged down in paper and manual inventory management, the ability to transition, to diversify and grow, is super accessible and can make a material difference to long term business success. But here is the most surprising thing that we’ve noticed at Addison West: many of our website visitors are, in fact, LOCAL. They look online, THEN come into the shop. And many of our out-of-state online sales are from prior visitors to us on Main Street. Ecommerce is not all about algorithms and big data. It is also about real people, making real connections, and then sustaining them.?

The other day, my sons and I were grabbing coffee and smoothies for lunch downtown. My husband walked down?Main Street toward us with sandwiches. He stopped to say hello to a friend passing by. That moment struck me. It made me happy. Surprisingly happy. I felt at home. Welcomed. Connected to the community. This is our town, the place where I can?feel and touch and see, where I can try on the sweater, sit on the sofa, open the book. The place where we run into the people we’ve missed, and then make plans to reconnect.?

I’m not the only one who loves this.

So, remember friends, to visit a small business in your downtown this coming Saturday. Or support one you know online. Our communities, and our lives, will all be better for it.?

Monique Bonner

Founder, Addison West