Main Street/Shop Local

October 23 marks the inaugural Christian Store Day, spearheaded by CBA: The Association for Christian Retail as a way to honor independent Christian retailers for their dedication to local service.

The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association is encouraging ABA members to help promote the inaugural celebration of Neighborhood Toy Store Day, set for November 13.

Stacy Mitchell, senior researcher with the New Rules Project and author of Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America’s Independent Businesses, looks at grassroots financing of local businesses, including Brooklyn's Greenlight Bookstore, Oakland's  Awaken Café, and Hardwick, Vermont's Claire's Restaurant.

An interesting media meme has emerged in the last month: that there are unique opportunities for indie booksellers in a society of hyper-connectivity and technological saturation.

Independent booksellers around the country celebrated the ninth annual Independents Week with sales and discounts, especially for customers who were willing to show their support for independent businesses on their shirts, bags, and receipts.

New "buy local" recycled shopping bags from Ellerkamp; BA elects indie bookstore owner as president; Banks step up opposition to swipe-fee reform; AAP reports book sales for April

Bookstores looking to join this year's Independents Week celebrations (July 1-7) have access to an abundance of freely available resources from the American Independent Business Alliance and ABA's Bookseller DIY.

A recent national survey indicating that more shoppers deliberately sought out locally owned businesses during the 2009 holiday season has drawn media coverage ranging from Florida to California.

More holiday shoppers deliberately sought out locally owned businesses this year, according to a national survey of more than 1,800 independent businesses. The survey found that holiday sales for independent retailers were up an average of 2.2 percent. That contrasts with the Commerce Department figures released today, which show that overall retail sales were down 0.3 percent in December and up 1.8 percent in November.

The American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) has a free holiday gift for local communities -- new outreach tools aimed at ramping up "Buy Indie/Buy Local" campaigns for the holidays -- or anytime. Among the offerings are a bag stuffer template and two posters/fliers spreading the pro-independent message.