With the holidays approaching, we have a unique opportunity to support the businesses we care about.

The small, local businesses that add so much to our communities are very much in need of our attention. The pandemic has taught us it’s essential to support businesses that are important to us, because they may be more vulnerable than we think. Increasing costs, higher interest rates, challenges finding and retaining employees, lingering supply chain issues, Covid safety protocols  – you name it – are creating a uniquely challenging environment for small, businesses. Their owners are feeling particularly pessimistic.

To that end, as a qualitative researcher, lately I’ve been encouraging my clients to get back to in-person qualitative. This is partly because I love doing research face-to-face, partly because I believe in-person research gets you a level of engagement, insight and nuance that online simply can’t. And partly because I believe in supporting businesses that I value. When it comes to face-to-face qualitative research, this means focus group facilities, local recruiters, field managers and other businesses that provide for this type of research. Many of these businesses have gone under over the past 2 ½ years.

When you support a local business, most or all of what you spend goes directly into the local economy and supports the creation and maintenance of jobs right in that community. Also, there’s a waterfall effect. Each of those businesses will support other local businesses. A local focus group facility, in addition to creating multiple jobs and contributing to local property taxes, supports restaurants and caterers, cleaning services and many tradespeople.

In the town where I live, Westfield NJ, we’ve lost a number of well-regarded local businesses since 2020. Our favorite store for herbs, seasonings and spices closed. And Brummer’s, a 116-year-old family-owned chocolate shop shut down as well – so no more of those to-die-for chocolate covered apricots. These businesses are gone for good. So, this holiday season, our family is making a point of buying local. By supporting local bookstores, florists, toy stores, clothing stores, restaurants, movie theaters and so on, I can think of no better way to “be the change you want to see in the world.”