Local retailers can’t match Amazon prices, find other ways to court customers

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) —  A small-business advocacy group is urging you not to forget about neighbourhood shops selling local goods as Amazon Prime Day draws to a close.

It’s hard for traditional retailers to compete with what’s now become an online sales giant, according to Muriel Protzer a policy analyst with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Although price is a driving factor for consumers, she says shoppers are increasingly factoring in other costs when choosing which products they buy.

“More and more today’s consumer is concerned about: Are my products ethically sourced? Are they locally sourced? How much transportation does this good have to take to get to me?”

She says the overhead required to run a brick-and-mortar business means there is a limit to how low prices can go, making it almost impossible to match the deals offered by Amazon.

“They simply just don’t have the resources or ability to get their own costs down to get to that level,” she says.

Many smaller retailers have adapted to online sale events like Cyber Monday by offering loyalty programs or other incentives to repeat customers, Protzer says.

She adds, small businesses offer unique wares–many of which are locally-sourced or hand-made– which can attract people looking for alternatives to mass-produced products.

Amazon’s 48-hour sale event was created to boost sales during a normally quiet time of year for retailers.

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