COMMENT: Buyers get what they pay for
Consumers hold power in sustaining local business
Opinion
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WITH news of more closures of longtime Rose City shops, I've been thinking about how our buying habits affect local business.
Over Christmas time, it certainly seemed plenty of shoppers were opting to get their gifts online or were fleeing to Brisbane or Toowoomba to do their purchasing.
There is no doubt consumers here in Warwick have less choice than our metropolitan counterparts, but just how much has our tendency to look elsewhere affected the viability of local business?
It's evident many locals lament the empty shop fronts around town, but one of the pitfalls of fewer options is looking and thus spending less in the local economy.
I won't suggest spending choices are the only factor at play here, but buyers will get what they pay for in the long term.
Many studies have shown spending locally ensures greater reinvestment in the community, lower environmental impacts and ultimately better prices and product diversity from increased competition.
There will be situations where looking further afield to buy is wholly necessary, but in this case, paying for local business is one of the only assurances that business will continue well into the future.
Sophie Lester, reporter
Originally published as COMMENT: Buyers get what they pay for
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