At the September Village Voices meeting, over 20 village merchants gathered to plan out the upcoming holiday season, even though we’re still sweeping sand from our thresholds left behind by summer shoppers. Ideas for new events, including a holiday music concert, a “Shop Hop,” a “Taste of Carlsbad” and new “Shop Local” marketing campaigns were discussed.
Even though it’s still beach weather, Village merchants are thinking of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and how to create undeniable holiday ambience to carry us through the end of the year. That’s where the “It takes a village” concept comes into play. When small businesses band together, we offer a more powerful shopping experience. Competing with the big box stores and the growing myriad of online stores isn’t for the faint of heart. So, the Carlsbad Village merchants are planning now to ensure that shopping and dining in the village this season will be well worth it and well worth repeating.
Why shop local? A widely acknowledged statistic shows that roughly $68 of every $100 spent locally, at a small business, stays in the local economy whereas only $43 of that same $100 spent at a big box store stays in the local economy.
So, thank you for shopping and dining local today and for planning on even more of the same this holiday season.