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CINCINNATI — As the holiday season wraps up and people are gathering last minute gifts, small business owners want to remind their communities to shop locally this season. One small business owner that said this holiday season they’ve seen fewer people shopping in their stores.
What You Need To Know
- Brit Cochran, owner of Launch Party, said there seems to be fewer people shopping small than in years past
- She said the market has been volatile which has made it difficult to plan
- According to a survey from NerdWallet, 27% of shoppers said they planned to shop local this year as compared to 35% in 2021
- Cochran hopes more people realize how big of an impact shopping small can have on the community
As Brit Cochran sets up her shop Launch Party for the day, she’s reminded why she started her business in the first place.
Brit Cochran shows off some of the eyeshadows she has in her store. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)
“I mean I’ve just been always passionate about small retail stores,” Cochran said. “I wanted to see what I could create and see what I could contribute to my own community.”
Cochran started Launch Party, an Indie beauty store, in 2019, and opened her shop in Over-The-Rhine last fall after she was a makeup artist for several years.
“Everything in this store is stuff that I personally love,” she said. “Like, I handpick every product that is in this store, so if it’s here I love it.”
The shelves of Launch Party are filled with beauty products that are mostly female-owned. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)
But as her second holiday season at this storefront comes to a close, she can’t help but think about what could have been.
“Holiday 2023 has felt a lot different in that we aren’t seeing the same excitement that we have seen in years past for small businesses,” Cochran said.
According to a recent survey from NerdWallet, 27% of shoppers planned to shop locally compared to the same survey in 2021 that had that number at 35%. Another barrier that’s keeping shoppers from spending more this season is inflation. More than half of shoppers say they won’t be able to buy as many gifts as they’d like to due to inflation.
“This year I feel like we’re really dealing with inflation and how to cope with the bigger box stores offering super deep discounts when we just cannot do the same,” Cochran said.
Cochran works on orders ahead of the holiday. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)
Cochran knew running a small business would be challenging, but this year has created more hurdles than anticipated, including a volatile market.
“We’ve had really high highs and really low lows,” she said. “That’s just so hard to plan as a small business owner for our projections, our sales projections, getting inventory in. And basically, how do we exist as a small business owner when we have no idea what’s next.”
Launch Party and other businesses in OTR have seen a decline in business and foot traffic. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)
Cochran said it’s not too late to shop small this season and to remember how big of an impact that can have on your local community.
“When anyone shops locally, 68 cents of every dollar they spend stays within the community,” she said. “So when you chose community over convenience it really is saying we would like our city to continue to thrive and to grow.”
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