A new report studying the shopping habits of southern Albertans suggests that the idea of “Shop Local” still has some room to grow.
Economic Development Lethbridge headed up the report which studies when and where people shop in Lethbridge.
The review helps local businesses see what shoppers want and how they can meet the need of consumers.
“The demographic information was really useful because knowing who’s coming into the city, and for businesses and retail they have the opportunity to tailor the services,” said Downton Lethbridge BRZ executive director. Sarah Amies. “So, the demographics certainly do show a number of opportunities.”
About $3.8 billion in annual spending comes from households within city limits, but a sizeable amount -- an additional $1.6 billion -- come from people in neighbouring communities.
While lots of visitors are spending a lot of money in Lethbridge, it seems most aren’t shopping at local businesses.
The report says visitors tend to prefer shopping at big box stores.
“There’s a lesson for Lethbridge retailers in understanding that there’s an enormous amount of their business comes from people that don’t actually live in the city and come in,” said Trevor Lewington, CEO of Economic Development Lethbridge.
“So that’s an important thing for them to understand and really understand how they market and talk to that group.”
Out-of-town shoppers are also more likely to have children and live in a younger household.
“With those kinds of pieces of information, it provides a lot of opportunity for businesses to potentially co-locate with a larger, better known brand or shop to put on kid-friendly activities, that kind of thing,” said Amies.
Crucial data
Having this data is crucial for small businesses.
With a possible recession on the horizon, it’s important for businesses to understand shopping trends in order to make it through a downturn.
“At this point, with the challenges of tariffs and just the general state of the economy, I think any tools we can give to our business owners to improve their business, that’s helpful in any way,” said Lewington.
Economic Development Lethbridge and the Downtown BRZ are hosting an information session on the reports findings April 14 from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. at the Southern Alberta Ethnic Association, 421 Sixth Avenue South. For free tickets, go here.
