A majority of British Columbians including those in Prince George are choosing to shop at a small business.
According to data released by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, 86% of those polled said supporting local was important to them while 62% stated some of their favourite places to shop in the province are small businesses.
In addition, the top reasons British Columbians choose to shop at small and local businesses included:
- To support their community (72%)
- To help small businesses succeed (55%)
- The friendliness and vibe from the owner/staff (55%)
- High-quality services or products (45%)
- Convenience, such as proximity to home or work (43%)
- Unique items and experiences and (37%)
PG Chamber of Commerce CEO, Todd Corrigall told Vista Radio there is an important factor at play when crunching the numbers.
“BC is disproportionately comprised of small businesses. 91% of all businesses in BC is considered a small business. It’s good to see that there is a respect and desire to ensure we are supporting those small businesses where we can support them.”
Furthermore, several locations in the northern capital are seeing an uptick in customers.
“We are hearing from individuals and we are hearing from small businesses that they are seeing new customers, they are welcoming back previous customers again as returning customers now so there are some interesting trends we can watch here in Prince George,” added Corrigall.
He hinted that while the age of PG’s population is increasing, the age of your average consumer is decreasing.
“As people age, they become much more focused on their money and where it’s being spent and the younger demographic is looking for different types of products and services.”
Corrigall also mentioned while consumers may think the big-box stores are easier to buy from, it’s our local businesses that continue to be the life-blood of our communities.
“So, while we may be getting some convenience factors and we may be getting some reduced costs from some of the larger businesses, we need to be mindful that it’s these small, local businesses that are supporting their communities.”
“COVID is effectively endemic at this point but now we are dealing with interest rates that are rising and inflation that is impacting British Columbians more significantly than in other provinces across the country. What we need to be mindful of is larger businesses will have a greater amount of leverage over their dollars than small businesses will – but, small businesses typically invest their earnings back in the community more intrinsically than the larger ones will.”