I cannot think of anything better than walking into a local store and finding a brand that you absolutely love. 

I’m not sure if anyone else has noticed, but living in a post- COVID-19 world has left an interesting taste in the mouths of consumers regarding how they shop, how much money they spend and most importantly, where they are choosing to spend that money. 

Throughout the entirety of the pandemic, I saw a countrywide effort to push the narrative to shop local. I saw downtown areas welcoming in customers, making an effort to schedule events and shows and social distancing-aware activities, I saw stores closing and holding grand reopenings, I saw Facebook events inviting people to shop exclusively at one store to help prevent it from going out of business.

Yet the whole time I couldn’t help but think, “Why weren’t we doing this before?” 

During the pandemic when Walmart was the only store available, I like to think that a switch was flipped in the minds of American shoppers. It provides an interesting perspective when the only places left to shop are large box stores, there is a missing warmth, a human touch that I think a lot of people really began to miss during the pandemic. 

Now, am I saying that I would like to be greeted and have the unhindered attention of a shop attendant every time I go to the store? No. Everyone has a messy bun, ‘running to the store really quick’ point in the week, and sometimes I just want to ninja in, get my eggs and a bag of chips and make it back out to my car before I run into someone from my church.

But after having to go without those small moments of human connection for so long, the “hi welcome in” and a smile, being able to find products that not everyone can just order online and being able to chat with someone as they ring you up has an added value that was missing before the pandemic. 

There are also so many new restaurants, small businesses and creative services that have come out of the pandemic. It’s nice to see entrepreneurs getting their shot to make an impact with their businesses. 

I can tell you I missed shopping; I missed talking to people and I am looking forward to getting out into Fayetteville and I am most excited to support local.