Retail betrayal

I almost bought a hanging basket of petunias at Lowe’s. Almost.

The husband and I made a run to the store yesterday to get some new mini-blinds and a bulb for our large outdoor porch light. And there, right out front, was a display of some surprisingly gorgeous 6-inch hanging baskets. And boy, was the price nice—around $12.

I pulled down a basket of purple petunias and admired it. “You like it?” the husband asked. “Go ahead and get it. It’s not expensive.”

And I almost did. I’ll tell you honestly, the only thing that made me put it back is the knowledge that I’d be a heck of a hypocrite if I made that impulse purchase. Considering what I do for a living, I consciously try to restrict all my plant purchases to independent garden centers.

But, of course, most consumers don’t have ties like that. Many, I daresay, would pluck up that nicely priced hanging basket without a second thought.

How do you feel about that?

Some retailers I’ve talked with over the years would expect it. They sigh and shrug. They know impulse and convenience frequently trump allegiance to independent retailers. Other store owners feel a level of betrayal when their customer’s dollars go to the big boxes.

Where do you fall on this spectrum?

-- Sarah

Comments

[greg draiss]

Time and again we hear shop local...
We are told Gen X, Y and Z are very aware of the planet and the need to support local business.

However, they are the first ones to shop at box stores while buying Fair Tade coffee and other items at Box type grocery chains.

Then they wonder why little stores go out.
They are subject to MTV branding which states as long as someone is promoting the awareness of (insert favorite cause here)
to them that means someone else is doing something about it and they as a result do not have to.

Gen X Y and Z are the biggest hypocrites I have evr seen. There is A Gen-X business column in the Albany Times Union. You cannot believe how many times the writer says "I did this, I did that, I am" etc etc.

And the 90's were the me generation?

Greg Draiss
Garden GURU to the new middle class
Warren Buffett and others who lost billions last 1/4)

[MrBrownThumb]

Sarah,

Interesting post. But if you feel an allegiance to independent garden centers why not one to independent hardware/home improvement stores? I don't know where you live but in my corner of Chicago, IL I could buy blinds at a couple of mom & pop establishments a few blocks from my house before I get close enough to the Home Depot or Menard's.

You may have to drive longer or look harder but if you're allegiance leans towards the independent why shop at Lowe's at all?

[Sarah]

Both Greg and MrBrownThumb make a great point about consumer hypocrisy--particularly my own! (Though I'd quickly add that I think 95% of the buying public would be guilty of this charge.) I'll be the first to say I can't claim superior buying habits. Could I have purchased the stuff I bought at Lowe's elsewhere? Maybe. The independently owned Ace Hardware I often go to might have had what I was looking for. But they weren't open at 8 a.m. on a Sunday. And I certainly would've paid more there than what I did at Lowe's. So...here ya go. Price and convenience won out again.

[Cinda Baxter]

Truth be told, many consumers don’t stop to actually process the thought (local independent retailer vs. national chain retailer) until they’re sitting at home on the sofa, reading the paper.

The 3/50 Project was created for the purpose of reminding consumers of the positive impact one person can have on the local economy by supporting independent retailers. There’s a simple bag stuffer (download for free) that explains how frequenting their 3 favorite independent retailers -and- spending a mere $50 per month in locally owned businesses can make a big difference in their community.

To learn more about The 3/50 Project and to download the free bag stuffer (or jpg for newsletter/web use), visit:

http://alwaysupward.com/blog/the-350-project-bag-stuffers-are-here/

It’s all about getting the word out to consumers in a friendly, effective way (without spending money to do it).

Cinda Baxter
Always Upward
Retail consultant, writer, speaker

[Sid Raisch]

This is exactly what we need Cinda. A practical solution everyone can participate in. I'll pass it forward. Easy. Affordable. Near instant implementation. Anyone can do it. Great job and thanks for sharing it. I hope everyone will share it with their fellow local-owned businesses. It will take a lot of repetition of the message for people to get it and then inconvenience themselves to act upon it.

[steve shull]

I shop Big Boxes last. I shop Walmart dead last, only as a last resort.
I sold to retail industry for 20 yrs. Chain store mentality is ruthless,top heavy, borderline heartless, & in many respects borderline brainless.
I don't patronise them for fear of contagion.

[Dirt under fingernails is a badge of honor]

I have been connected with the Nursery Industry since 1972, as a Wholesale Grower, a Manager of an Independent Garden Center and somewhere in between spent a couple of months working as a W-2 employee at a Big Box [I firmly believe it is good to know how they work - especially from the inside. Ahhhh the things I learned]

This was a good blog - it caused me to think where I bought my stuff. I bought from my customers [Independents], bartered with those that may be a slow pay, seeds mailorder from Specialty Independents. Seed starts, cane plants, strawberries, spuds, etc. from Independent Feed Stores.

Of course a lot of my purchases were from Independent Supply Houses, for soil, pots, chemicals, fertilizer, etc.

So all in all, the big boxes have received very little money from me over the years.

As a grower I helped my Independents compete with the Big Boxes by providing POS materials, educational materials, signage and so on.

As a Manager of an Independent Garden Center - I made sure my employees had access to research material to answer questions [I even brought in my own books], educated them about the hardgoods, made sure we were super friendly and helpful, if we did not know the answer we would take their number and research it out and call them back, if they were looking for a certain plant, we maintained a list with their name and number and I would see if we could get it from our suppliers and whether it was something we should carry, and tried to order in plants that would never be found in a big box.

Instead of sitting back - I became proactive. I built customer loyalty and a reason to come back to me.

And there was never a 'dumb' question, which made customers relax.

[Terry Olson]

One of my biggest complaints about big box is the way they promote ignorance. "All plants guaranteed to live one year." It completely removes responsibility from the customer to practice the art of gardening. In my zone, grafted roses don't survive our winters without protection. Impatiens and marigolds simply don't live through the winter. Blanket guarantees such as this do a disservice the the public.

[Terry Olson]

I thought of another one...as an offspring of a bedding plants grower, the pressure on small producers to agree to "pay by scan". Growers are exposed to enough risk simply getting their plants to market. Add to that the risk of plants not being properly cared for, placed, or protected from theft (even from the box's own employees!)--and you have a formula for failure. While some growers (of less perishable plants than bedding plants that are usually displayed INSIDE a box--not in an unsecured area in front of the building) have embraced the idea of "pay by scan", it doesn't translate well for producers of spring bedding plants.

[Randy Ball]

Excellent thought provoking post. Sometimes we are creatures of habit and we will go to the nearest place just to save a little time without thinking about the little guy. Of course i think if we are not the little guy ourselves then we are apt to forget him/her too quickly. But anyway i find I am the worst. This reminds me of a pet peeve I have as a retailer - when one of your wholesalers can be found on QVC selling lower than you can. I have had a couple in the past do that and I feel that is undercutting their loyal sellers - so I made a new rule that we will not deal with any wholesaler that does that - they want us to be loyal to them so i believe they should be in return.
Thanks have a great day

[Renee Talley]

I think this is how we lost the family hardware store where people were helpful and actually knew how to do things. To save 10 cents they go to Home Depot and get no service and no smarts. Now it is happening in floriculture. Very sad.