Shopping local impact this holiday season

HAZARD, Ky. (WYMT) – As the holidays quickly approach, businesses are decking the halls and stocking the shelves in hopes of attracting shoppers who are looking to buy local.

Owner of Belcher and Bourdeaux, Lena Bakun, said this time of year is big for any retail store.

“But for us, it is, and we want to provide a gift store here in town that, you know if you have a last-minute birthday or even anybody’s birthday or event,” Bakun said. “We want to be the first thing to do and it’s here.”

This is a crucial time of year for small business owners to boost sales and connect with customers. Bakun said her store had great success from Downtown Hazard’s Pink Weekend.

“The turnout was, I mean, double triple what she’d had before,” Bakun said. “So, it was amazing.”

Downtown Coordinator for the City of Hazard, Bailey Richards, said Pink Weekend brought brand awareness to businesses. She said some made one month’s worth of revenue during that weekend.

“Someone may not know what all they have. They may not know that they do have the opportunity to shop at a local store for XYZ thing,” Richards said. “They think they have to go online. They have to go to big box stores. When we do have those options locally, you can pick up the thing, touch it, feel the quality sit, and at, whatever and that in some cases is really important depending upon what you’re buying.”

Richards said holiday shopping is not just about finding the perfect gift. She said it is also about supporting the local economy and creating a sense of community.

“It seems like especially around Christmas there’s this desire for uniqueness, local, handcrafted, various things like that,” Richards said. “We’re seeing that, especially on the gift side of things, people are spending a lot more on the local side and so we’re hoping that that’s a trend that continues”

They are capturing the Christmas spirit by highlighting local businesses this holiday season.

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