To say go and support your local independent businesses

I've just stopped buying more stuff in general and not just because of the cost of living crisis.

Especially after watching Buy Now: The Shopping conspiracy (Netflix).

I agree - I always use my local bookshop, because if I don't it will close. We used to have 2 bookshops, the second is a coffee shop now.

I enjoy the whole experience of shopping in that bookshop, and the handiness of having it there when I need to get a present. And they pay tax and employ people who live in my town.

We've've lost the hardware shop and can't get a key cut now, and so many of my neighbours think it's a real pity, but don't seem to get the link with the Amazon vans at their homes.

We need to stop going for the cheapest possible deal, as a pp said, a lot of people are using the cost of living crisis as an excuse to put cost over everthing else, and it impacts on how our communities work, and whether they even feel like communities anymore.

Too expensive and never have the stuff I need in stock so I wait for weeks on end. Much happier with cheaper and next day delivery

This is a tricky one for me. I work in a local, independent business and so for obvious reasons I agree.
But I also understand why people don't because I can't actually afford to use the place I work at regularly (without a staff discount that I obviously wouldn't get in the other independent businesses in town) and they can't afford to pay me more.
Without people using the business I work in I wouldn't have a job, but in turn even with that job I can't afford to support the local independent butcher, bakery etc because although the quality is better, I can't afford it, I have to use cheaper, poorer quality stuff.
I don't know what the answer is!

I'd do love to but in my town they're all closed on Sundays and Mondays (my day off) and open 10-3 or 10-4 during the rest of the week, often with a lunch time closure. There's a gorgeous coffee shop at the end of my road but it closes at 3pm but in reality they won't serve you after 2.15pm.

you check Company house before using a cafe?
That's a new one on me!

I went to an independent place recently and the scones were definitely past best, they warmed them so smelled nice but a challenge to eat as dry. The coffee was meh. I think it’s all very well trying to support local owned businesses but they need to provide a product to enable repeat custom.

I donate quite a lot to various charities which support causes I'm sympathetic to, but I will not give money away to support independent businesses that are usually overpriced and offer poor customer service, particularly with restricted opening hours. They don't deserve my money - as someone said upthread, why would I pay £4 for a birthday card that I can get for 79p in Homebase? This is a capitalist society and the businesses that succeed are those that offer things people want at a price they can afford. If they don't, I'm not chucking my money at them for the sake of it. Dragons Den proves that there are some great entrepreneurs out there, but sadly, most new businesses fail within the first year. Life has changed since the coming of the Internet, and it's just inevitable that consumers will turn to online shopping that is so much more convenient. If you want to support small businesses, turn to Etsy. But the demise of the High Street is no great tragedy IMHO - just a response to changes in the way society operates.

I use our local independent shops all the time, meat from the butchers, fruit and veg from the greengrocer, and cakes from a local cake shop. There's only two local cafes I use now, one is the only one that opens before 9am (otherwise the only option is Costa) and the other I like the owner and can slightly forgive her dodgy business practice.

The other cafe we used to use we've been boycotting for a year, and there's at least 6 restaurants locally that have done the same thing as them. Stop paying their tax and other bills, go into voluntary administration, set up a new company and carry on trading. They buy the fixtures and fittings from the "old" company from the administrator. We now check all of them on companies house before we go anywhere, can take a bit of sluething, but we've decided we only want to support ethical businesses.

Yes i can deny it.

The butcher i use is regularly cheaper than the supermarket for things like braising steak and sausages compared to asda or Morrisons. His homemade pies are better and cheaper than the ones at Marks and Waitrose.

He headline price is more expensive for chicken and mince and bacon but none have them have bedn water injected so you need half the amount and it ends up being uneconomical.

He's really struggling because Birstall council have seen fit to introduce parking charges pushing people out to the big supermarkets.

Even if money is tight, you can shop more independently by going to your local market. It's where my butcher started and his son has just followed in his footsteps by opening his own fruit and veg stall at the same market.

My butcher is very open about his small profit margin, and I would much rather contribute to that rather than the huge profits supermarkets make.

Business models rise and fall all the time and are dependent on a multitude of factors. It's not a total stranger's responsibility to prop up a failing business that may be due to unrealistic pricing, bad location, poor marketing etc. To be perfectly honest, opening any type of small business is usually for selfish reasons. It's always "done out of love". They've always dreamed of owning a tiny shop, boutique, cafe etc in a specific vibe or aesthetic. Or it's a creator who always wanted to turn their hobby into a job and now sell things they enjoy making.

In order to make things profitable, they often have to charge prices that are simply nowhere near reasonable competition. Or they cut corners on quality, staffing, service etc. As a customer, I've been in small shops where the products all feel manky and "touched" by multiple people. The packaging often looks like it's been opened or could have been a return. I don't want a product like that if I can get a brand new one from a chain store. Similarly, been to many indie cafes where they display unrefrigerated baked goods in glass domes on the counter. God knows how long the cookies have been there and I've spotted mould on them before. I will take a packaged Pret brownie any day.

To be brutally honest, if the motivations of the owner(s) are self-centred then consumers are allowed to be selfish as well. Small businesses are usually created so someone can earn a living doing something they love rather than actually choosing an occupation based on current demands of the job market. Nobody is starting threads here begging people to support your local NHS dentist. The person who decided to become a dentist made a smart decision at some point in their life. The person who wants to make a living selling crocheted socks for dogs took a risk when they made that decision.

My local coffee shop doesn't have skimmed milk - apparently "there's no demand for it"! So I go to Costa for my skinny latte.

I think that those of us who can afford to shop around should support independents. But everyone's view will be different. I use a butcher, like to send nice cards, love bookshops. But I don't waste my money in nail bars when I can perfectly well do my own, for example.

Agree, we have also to look after ourselves financially.

In the case of butchers I do agree, support a butcher because it's better all round, and the meat is not dearer than the supermarket and butchering is a skill.

Actual small business - you bet.

All too often though ‘support small businesses’ on social media turns into MLMs pushing other MLMs at you.

A lot of the independent shops near me seem to be hobby businesses. I have a lovely gift shop next to my work and see a lot of lovely things in the window, however it's opening hours are so limited I have yet to buy anything as it's always shut! I even went up there on my day off hoping to buy a gift for a friend, nope, closed that day. I've given up.
They are generally also overpriced and too expensive for many.
And barber's are also independent businesses that are a much needed service so not sure why you singled them out. No different to an independent cafe or florist other than providing an essential service.

I do, I use our independent shops every day. It takes a couple of minutes for me to walk to the butcher, greengrocer, bakery, florist, cake shop, eco refill shop, homeware shop, jeweller, gift shop, chemist, clothing shop, outdoors shop, brewery, pet shop, and a big range of others, all independents, lots of cafes and restaurants, salons and beauty places, family run gym, book shop, record shop, and all kinds of small businesses. I know most of the people who run them at least in passing.

To go to one of the supermarkets I have to use the car and all the faff that entails. There isn’t a supermarket that sells everything I can get on the high street so I usually end up driving to more than one shop. And then end up buying in an inefficient way (eg having to buy a pack of six pork chops when we want five, or change pet food type based on what they have, when I can just get it on regular order from my local)

Its much easier and cheaper for our family to use proper shops and shop daily than spend hours of a weekend day driving around supermarkets.

The weather is glorious here today in Yorkshire so we are off to Knaresborough (they have dozens amazing independent shops) to do just that. There’s apparently a fab new florist and revisiting the most wonderful boutique clothes shop where prices are pretty much the same as Next and the clothing is really unique (Harriet’s). We are lucky it’s within driving distance. I don’t think ALL independent shops are more expensive. It’s just a case of doing research. I’ve had it with high street shops! Cheap itchy badly fitted crap for twice as much as it should be. Chain Coffee shops are so bad too (and obnoxious). I would stop at buying a picture from an art gallery. £70+ isn’t my picture price bracket

I would but they don't always sell what I need. It's just as quick to go on to Amazon and order it

I used to live the other side of the city and there was a local butchers. As great as it was he was cash only. I rarely use cash

I love buying on line.
I hardly ever go into a real life shop.
I think it would be lovely if high streets were used as leisure/ parkland instead of the same shops inevery single town.

I would love to buy from independent shops and that sort of thing, but firstly we have very few, and secondly those that there are around tend to neither stock what I want and are very expensive.

A couple of years ago I bought crackers from an independent place. Handmade, honestly did look a it, but thought I'd give them a go, supporting my local. £30 for 6. That's at least 4x what I'd normally pay.
They were fine. But nothing special. I'd have liked for that price to have been a little bit impressed by the contents, not necessarily something fantastic, but perhaps a little different rather than the typical mini-screwdrivers, bottle opener etc.
A little bit of thought would have made me think "actually maybe I'll go back next year". I did try feeding it back to them, with suggestions of (fairly cheap) things they could put in. I got a bland response which approximately boiled down to "what you expect us to think out of the box".
But if you are an independent place, surely that's exactly what you're paying more for - something a little different, individual.

I’d love to do this but I don’t have the time. They are shut by the time I finish work, and weekends are busy enough as it is.

I’m also trying to reduce spending on unnecessary stuff, from an environmental and clutter p.o.v as much as COL.

I do want to reduce Amazon most of all but I’ve got used to kindle etc.

I do, but I’m fairly wealthy, so when I shop it’s for the product and the enjoyable experience. I’m not trying to feed a family on a budget: as I bought my £6 loaf of sourdough from the local bakery this morning and then went a few doors down and spent £4.80 on an oat milk latte and had a lovely chat with the woman who owns the cafe, I had to reflect that this is a total luxury for many of my fellow Londoners, for whom even being able to buy Hovis over supermarket brand bread and treat themselves to a coffee at Greggs is their limit.

I don't disagree with the sentiment, but the Op reeks of privilege.

Many independent coffee shops and restaurants sell badly made/burnt coffee and overpriced food and cut corners. I know chains aren't exactly cheap but customer service tends to be better and you know what you're getting. Independent food and clothing retailers are much more expensive