Throughout the years, our shopping habits have definitely evolved due to our advancement in technology.

Years ago we had a few different options:

Shop local – which was harder on rural people as the choices were rather limited and more expensive as the smaller shops don’t have much buying power

Go to the City – shop in the malls or the larger box stores such as Woolco, K-Mart, Zellers, The Bay, Woolworth’s, etc. (obviously I am showing my age as many of you will not even know the names of these stores! Lol)

Catalogues - mail orders – the one I remember the most was the Sears Catalogue – many of you will remember the Christmas Wish Catalogue – that is where kids got most of their ideas for Christmas presents

Now we have so many options to choose from it makes your head spin!

We still have the three options listed above but now our world has opened up to include worldwide online shopping!

It’s easy, fast, efficient, cheaper – depending on site, and you don’t have to take time going to a store in crappy weather, dealing with traffic and people.

The downside to this amazing opportunity is that we are slowly (in some cases quickly) losing our shop local options.

The smaller stores are starting to close down due to lack of the ability to make a profit.

One thing we need to remember is…

When we need something quick and close, our local stores are essential.

I try to make a point of creating balance in my life and I include that in my shopping habits. By shopping local, we keep our smaller stores around for our convenience and their livelihood.