Online Shopping Poses Civic Test

Sat., Jan. 2, 1999

By Doug Floyd dougf@spokesman.com

Depending on whose estimate you accept, between $2.3 billion and $5 billion worth of Christmas purchases took place over the Internet during the holiday season. Even at the low range that’s a mega-increase from 1997’s $1.1 billion.

Thus one more formidable predator is beginning to gnaw at the flanks of independent, hometown retailers.

Already challenged by giant chain stores, mail-order catalogues and home shopping networks, what can local merchants do? The same thing they’ve always done: compete.

Let’s hope they do it well, not just for their sakes, but for the community’s.

Actually, online shopping may pose less of a threat to traditional stores than to mail-order operations whose clientele already have shown their preference for shopping in seclusion.

In any event, the roughly $13 billion in Internet purchases racked up in all of 1998 is but a sliver of a percentage point of some $2.6 trillion in overall retail sales for the year.

But the phenomenon is clearly growing, and in communities like the Spokane area, where low incomes temper consumer demand, an abundance of stores already are on shaky ground without having to worry about the added challenge from rivals who enjoy a competitive advantage not only because of convenience but also because of their ability to avoid collection and payment of local sales taxes.

The best local stores will emphasize the things they can do that Internet businesses and mail-order houses can’t - personal service, exclusive product lines, the tactile satisfaction of handling the merchandise before you buy, trying it on to make sure it fits.

But to whatever degree hometown businesses struggle and even fail as shoppers sacrifice allegiance to obtain convenience, communities lose a vital civic ingredient.

How much does amazon.com contribute to street repair, or the Spokane Symphony or United Way of Spokane County?

Local business owners live and pay taxes and hire employees and spend their profits here. Local business owners support local causes with their time and money. Local business owners have a stake in the community.

Consumers will be consumers, of course. They want value and convenience and reliability, and if they can get that on line it may be enough. It may be hard for them to remember the intangible benefits of maintaining a healthy climate for local businesses.

Local journalism is essential.

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