We Need Main Street Retail

Last week Congress approved a second amount of $320B additional for the Paycheck Protection Program (Cares Act), bringing the total assistance to at least $700B for mid-size and small businesses to weather the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the loans and financial assistance will help, the best remedy is to get the economy running again. Commerce in the United States is dependent on the economy churning. As we start to see day light and become more optimistic about the return of some sense of normal, shopping and Retail will become more important. Retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, driving the U.S. economy and creating jobs in communities around the country.  According to the NRF, Retail supports 1 in 4 American jobs and contributes just about $4T (trillion) to the U.S. annual GDP.

Big Box stores, which have been so important in continuing to provide essential supplies and groceries to our citizens through-out the pandemic, will continue to operate and thrive, as their customer base has probably expanded over the crisis. We need them, as Walmart, Target, Amazon, Kroger, Home Depot, Lowes, Costco, BJ's, and others form the foundation of Retail. Department Stores, Off-Price Retailers, and other mid-tier national chain stores will re-open over time and all compete for market share by screaming about promotions and value to regain and recoup sales lost over the past two months.

However, it is our local merchants, storeowners, and shopkeepers in our neighborhoods, villages, and towns that need our support and encouragement to survive. Shopping local will become even more important. It is the local restaurants, coffee shops, clothing boutiques, shoe stores, barbershops, tailors, hardware stores, bodegas, pet stores, and others that drive the sense of community and belonging where we live. They add character and create a sense of calm, safety, dependability, and familiarity for us.

Some quick facts about local businesses:

• Small businesses generate about $68 of local economic return for every $100 spent with them. 
• Almost $10 billion would be directly returned to our economy if every US family spent just $10 a month at a local business. 
• Small businesses donate 250% more than large businesses to community causes. 
• Small businesses employ 58.9 million people.
• More than a quarter of small business owners are immigrants.

We need all Retail to thrive post pandemic, as quickly and as safely as possible...Big-Box, National Chains, Department Stores, Off-Price, eCommerce, they all have a reason for existing. But, we especially need our local stores to be successful.