‘We Miss You, We Love You.’ Halifax Business Pleads With Shoppers To Buy local
HALIFAX — It’s near impossible to look back at 2020 as a positive experience for businesses. The Covid-19 pandemic forced many businesses to close, and while many shut for just a short time, others were forced to closed for good.
Small businesses also had to take on new debt to stay afloat — debt that many are having trouble repaying.
For a short period of time, however, there was a swell of support for local businesses. With big box stores, liquor stores, and Amazon seeing record numbers in pandemic shopping, many civic-minded people decided to throw some dollars at craft brewers, small retailers, and independent grocers.
But talk to those small businesses now and they will likely say that momentum has died. With the world more comfortable ordering online, places that rely on old-fashioned foot traffic have seen a steady drop in business.
That is why the owner of Tare Shop in Halifax, Kate Pepler, is speaking out about her own vulnerability during these challenging times. She noted her shop was recently down 40 percent in sales from 2019, and 20-30 percent from just last year.
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In a recent Facebook post, she spilled her heart about these difficult times.
“We’re trying everything to get creative and get folks back in store, or bring new customers in: to offer new products, to invite people into the space. But it really feels like nothing has been working,” said Pepler.
“We need regular customers, we need folks to make the effort to rustle up some containers and shop with us. To get back into the routine of stopping by. Grabbing a coffee from the café, using our space.”
In a heartbreaking conclusion to her post, Pepler wrote something that could have been attributed to a personal letter, rather than a business post:
“We miss you, we love you…”
Pepler admits it can be difficult to show such vulnerability. But she notes other small businesses have reached out to thank her. She encapsulated what these independent shops are going through in a post-restriction world.
“It’s so hard being vulnerable and putting yourself out there and sharing your struggles and asking for help,” Pepler told Huddle in an interview. “But I’m very grateful I did. I’ve had so many amazing conversations with our customers and community and other small businesses because of it.”
It turns out consumers love a bit of honesty. In the first week after making her heartfelt post, in-store sales went up 50 percent, while online business doubled.
“There’s been a lot of sleepless nights, wondering how we’re gonna get through it all. But after posting a week ago, the support has really been incredible,” said Pepler.
“Being entrepreneurs is not for the faint of heart. And I don’t think anybody goes into ownership lightly. It’s just part and parcel of the game and, hopefully, we’ll get through this challenging time.”
The Tare Shop, which has locations in Halifax and Dartmouth, has a business philosophy that puts its money where its mouth is, so to speak. It’s an environmentally focused grocery store and café where they use no packaging and create as little waste as humanly possible.
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The Tare Shop repurposes jars and containers. Need laundry detergent? Instead of buying a giant plastic jug of Tide, you can get a refill of locally sourced detergent. It’s the same for coffee and spices. The products we usually buy in new containers (creating waste) can be sourced in a better way if we try.
“You can bring your empty containers into us and refill them and you’re saving plastic waste,” explains Pepler. “We’re also a package-free café, so we don’t have any disposable coffee cups. Instead, we have mugs if you’re sitting in store. You can, of course, fill up your travel mug to go. And we have repurposed jars if you want to take a coffee to go.”
In the past, Pepler has reminded shoppers that there are always small, local, alternatives when it comes to busy shopping times. Before Hurricane Fiona, Pepler wrote online that people can buy their emergency supplies at places like the Tare Shop and not just supermarkets.
And now, the Christmas shopping season is around the corner. This may be one of the most important years for people buy at least some of their gifts locally.
“I think it’s always important when you whether you are holiday shopping or shopping or prepping for a storm to try to support the local businesses before you go to the big box stores or go online to retailers like Amazon.
“Small businesses are a huge part of the local economy. So always trying to remind folks that you can get your storm chips at a local store or even like local convenience stores. Ultimately, people must do what works for them. But we still need people making the effort to shop local and support the places they want to see in their neighborhood.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].