Shop Local, Shop Small for Easter at Georgie Lou's!

Growing numbers of consumers are looking to support small, locally-owned businesses. Small Business Saturday, created by American Express in 2010, estimates that its second annual event in 2011 drew 103 million people into locally-owned businesses on the Saturday after Black Friday, which are numbers that exceeded their estimates. Locally in Carlisle, the Downtown Carlisle Association is ramping up its efforts in 2012 to invite local consumers to discover their downtown by expanding its First Friday events and by coordinating with Carlisle Events to create “Block Parties” during car shows throughout the summer. But local residents need not wait until summer to start supporting local businesses. They can fill their Easter baskets with plenty of Pennsylvania-made goodies while strengthening the local economy by shopping in downtown Carlisle right now.


Georgie Lou’s Retro Candy & Gifts in Carlisle has specifically sought out locally-made Easter candy this year. In fact, nearly 95% of our Easter specialty candy is Pennsylvania made. From Zitner Eggs made in Philadelphia to molded chocolate bunnies and Clear Toy Candy made by Aunt Bee’s in Hanover, shoppers will find plenty of delicious choices that will keep money in Pennsylvania’s economy at Georgie Lou’s. We’re lucky in Pennsylvania to have a strong confectionary tradition, so we’ve been able to pull together many hand-crafted Easter candies made within a 100 mile radius of Carlisle this year. Many items, such as chocolate-dipped Peeps and Oreos and Gummi Kabobs, are made by small start-up companies in the Lebanon/Lancaster area. By buying our candy from small companies, we’re able to offer our customers unique products they won’t find in big box stores while supporting family-owned and operated businesses like ourselves. In addition, Georgie Lou’s other Easter candy is overwhelmingly made in the United States. Even though many companies are moving their production overseas, we always choose to support companies who continue to produce candy in the United States whenever we can.


In such tough economic times, why has the shop local movement gained traction? To put it simply—mathematics. Numerous studies show that consumer dollars spent at locally-owned businesses stay in the community at much higher rates than those spent at big box stores. According to the Small Business Saturday website, $68 of every $100 spent at small businesses go right back into the local economy while only $43 of every $100 spent at chain retailers go directly into the surrounding community. Even worse for the local economy are out-of-state internet retailers, with nary a cent going back into the local or state economies. More money put back into the local and state economies means more money for local schools and roads, more jobs and wages for other members of the community, and more money for local charities and non-profits.


But it’s about more than money. Small businesses enrich the community by establishing personal, friendly relationships with their customers and providing customer service unparalleled by chain stores. Local business owners are integral parts of the community and respect and value each one of their customers because they are their neighbors and not simply transaction totals. We’ve built close relationships with many of our customers. We know what’s going on in their families, and they know what’s going on in ours. We know many by name and look forward to catching up with them and asking about their kids when they visit our store. And since I'm a local girl, I've been able to find many inter-generational ties with my customers, who may have grown up with my parents or known my grandparents. You don’t build the type of ties we have with our customers with clerks at big box stores. Our entire business philosophy is based on different things. For us, it’s not all about dollars and cents like national chains. We want to become a Carlisle tradition—the neighborhood candy store that parents bring their children and eventually grandchildren to for treats. We want to become a place that people look back upon and speak of fondly as so many of our customers do about their childhood penny candy stores. Creating new and strengthening already established community ties like these may be the most important reason behind the growth in the shop local movement.


So start building community ties and keeping more money in the local economy by shopping small this Easter at businesses like Georgie Lou’s in downtown Carlisle. Your purchases will do double duty by putting smiles on faces Easter morning while giving back to your local community as well.


Georgie Lou's Retro Candy & Gifts is open Tuesday through Thursday from 12-6 and Friday and Saturday from 12-7 and will be open extended hours Easter week. Georgie Lou’s is active on facebook (facebook.com/georgielous), twitter (@GeorgieLous), and can be found on the web at GeorgieLous.com.