A nip in the air completed the atmosphere Friday night for the beginning of Columbia’s Holiday Open House. It put shoppers in the mood to get a jumpstart on their Christmas shopping.
Crowds were robust both Friday night and during the day Saturday, and several merchants reported they had strong weekends. That’s a good sign for the local economy heading into this crucial season.
For a town of just over 6,000, Columbia boasts an impressive number of shops. These hometown stores know their customers by name and have an insight into what kind of merchandise they’ll like that a buyer in a corporate tower somewhere in the Northeast will never have, no matter how much “Big Data” he has to comb through in spreadsheets.
These locally owned stores support fundraisers and ball teams. They pay property and sales tax that returns to this community. Their owners and employees are part of civic organizations and churches. They help make Columbia a better place to live.
Can you say that about big box stores in Hattiesburg or online retailers? Certainly not. Those stores contribute nothing to Columbia; every dollar spent there, in fact, is a dollar less flowing through the Marion County economy.
We can’t and won’t tell anyone where and how they should spend their money. They earned it, and they can do with it what they please. That’s America.
But when making buying decisions, we encourage you to at least think about how it will affect your quality of life in the long run. Getting the cheapest deal online might turn out not to be the best decision if it corrodes your community’s base of businesses and supporters.
The successful Holiday Open House reflects that many people in Columbia appreciate that message and are taking it to heart.
— Charlie Smith
