Larry Blaskey
Douglas Dispatch
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While flat growth at this time of the year isn’t something to be terribly excited about, it means city merchants are in better shape that many around the country and even others in Cochise County.
Carreira said that there are many outside forces impacting any economic slowdown or recession, but what can consumers and merchants do to keep it from worsening in the community, and even possibly reverse the trend locally?
To limit the impact of a recession on Douglas, we first need to know what a recession is.
“A recession is a prolonged period of time when a nation’s economy is slowing down or contracting. Such a slowdown is characterized by a number of different trends:
• People buying less stuff.
• Decrease in factory production
• Growing unemployment
• Slump in personal income
• Unhealthy stock market.”
One suggestion is to look at one’s own situation.
“Often the worst aspect of a recession is the affect on consumer confidence and people’s fear about the future. Bear in mind, the media often exaggerate the extent of the downturn in the economy. The media like to highlight sensationalist stories. However, it is often not as bad as made out to be. Keep a calm, detached attitude and just make the best of the current situation,” said T. Pettinger in Economicshelp.com
Economist Larry White wrote, “A recession can only exist when enough people mentally ‘Buy Into’ it. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Manipulated by the media. Then fueled by people’s fear.”
Carriera said that both consumers and merchants have a role in getting through these times.
“Consumers often look for the lowest price at all costs during times of economic difficulty. Unfortunately, the low price somewhere else might cost you more than the cost from a local merchant,” he said.
“In order for Douglas to reverse any downturn or stagnate growth, first consumers have to “Shop Local.” The Sierra Vista Chamber is currently involved in an advertising campaign to convince shoppers to stay at home for Christmas.”
Douglas Downtown Merchants are currently working on a program, which includes a big event next weekend.
“Residents need to realize dollars spent outside of Douglas benefit the communities where the money is spent in the form of sales taxes. If sales tax collection in Douglas drops because people shop out of town, the money will have to made up some way, either in reduced services or in increased taxes,” he said.
“The top benefit of shopping local is being able to keep all of the tax money in Douglas benefiting Douglas residents.”
Carriera said there is also the cost of shopping out of town. One has to take in account the cost of gas, meal and other incidentals in comparing the real cost of shopping in Douglas compared to Sierra Vista, Tucson or Phoenix.
“It doesn’t matter if you saved $20 on your purchase in Tucson if you had to spend $40 in gas to get there.”
Merchants role
“Merchants have to do their part in competitive pricing and selection and continue the high quality of service,” he said.
In his article “How small business survive a recession,” K.E. Hall said, “So how does a business survive a recession? Here is a list of small business recession survival strategies:
√ Review and upgrade the controls surround your small business to avoid any financial improprieties.
√ Increase your advertising budget, and make sure you get adequate return from your investment.
√ Offer aggressive sales and discounts to your customers to encourage customer loyalty.
√ Review your business expenses on a daily basis and reduce your costs where appropriate.
√ Focus on providing superior customer service. Keeping your existing customers is critical during a recession.
√ Brainstorm creative ways to increase revenue and reduce costs everyday,
√ Increase the number of hours you work at your business, especially working on sales and marketing efforts.”
Other suggestions include offering free merchandise or premiums for certain purchases or purchases over a certain amount, do more planning in order to save time and money, and be innovative in your approach to market your business.
The next part of the series will look at local employment.
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