Your Best Bet for Holiday Shopping in 2021

Take the Stress out of Holiday Shopping and Shopping Local

The headlines are filled with news of cargo ships backed up at ports around the country. Then, when they finally get the ships unloaded, there is a reported shortage of 80,000 truckers to deliver the goods to the local markets. Next, the product has to go the “last mile” to get to you.

A local retailer reported the recent delivery of an order placed in July 2020. COVID-19 has disrupted our economy at the source. The whole supply line has been affected and is not expected to stabilize until well into 2022. Retailers large and small, online and local, face the same problems. There are advantages to shopping locally, though.

Your local downtown’s small shops offer everything from books to vinyl albums, dresses and accessories to toys and pet items, computers to restaurant gift certificates, and more that you can take home with you at the time of purchase. You don’t need to wait for deliveries or backorders.

Shopping local takes the stress out of holiday shopping and helps make your community stronger by keeping more of your money here where it can be the most beneficial. Jobs are created and taxes are collected, sure. But also, these local businesses are run by the people who live here and support the organizations and projects that make your town a place you love to call home.

Your best bet for holiday shopping? Shop local and shop early this holiday season.

"Some people say historic preservation is about saving a building, I say it is about saving a town." Wayne Carter, MainStreet DeLand Association www.mainstreetdeland.org Phone: 386-738-0649