Or is it the duty of the local retailer to consider the particular needs and demands of local residents and respond appropriately?
When renovations of High St were being done in Dannevirke there was a story about a local retailer bemoaning business was poor and it was the council's fault. Actually no. It wasn't the council's fault the business wasn't doing well, it was because the business offered little in the way of an attractive environment, products or service.
It's almost as if we've come to accept one of my favourite phrases as fact without even questioning it: "There's no money in Dannevirke."
Don't give me that. There are local companies which have experienced an increase in profitability in recent years. Just about everyone I know has a smartphone/iPad/laptop/penchant for takeaways. There is always money to be made.
The job of the retailer is to figure out how to get more of that money by figuring out what it is their consumer wants.
Here's something for nothing: your customers want an experience. The value isn't so much in the good or service you provide. It's in the way your customer feels when they are purchasing that good or service.
We can buy just about everything we need online and have it delivered to our door - clothes, books, phones, DVDs and groceries. When we're shopping in person we're looking for an experience.
I get my petrol from BP because the staff greet me by name and are always smiley so I end up leaving feeling better than when I went in.
I frequent the Black Stump Cafe because the woman behind the counter appears to know me (I don't think she does, I think she just greets every one like that) and it's been really busy so I feel like I'm in the midst of vibrancy when I'm there.
Is the local retailer's job simply to sell goods and services to local people?
No. Their job is to make their customers' day. And if, as a retailer, you don't agree with this, you're in the wrong job.
Retail is hard yakka. Being nice and smiley and upbeat all day every day, can be exhausting. And that's what it takes. If you want to capture a bigger share of the local dollar you have to not only put yourself in the shoes of your customers to figure out how you can make their day, you have to do it better than retailers through the Manawatu Gorge.
It is the responsibility of the local retailer to ensure they are offering goods or services that respond to the needs and wants of their customers. It is not the responsibility of the consumer to shop in your shop just because supporting local retailers is something we should be doing. It is the responsibility of the local retailer to raise their game, to identify gaps in the local market and to invest time and resource into tailoring their offering according to market demand. It is the responsibility of the local retailer to make their customers' day so they may return the next.
Here's something else for nothing - figuring it out is not rocket science. I stare at my kitchen cupboards most nights and think: "There is absolutely nothing here I can put together for dinner." A Masterchef walks in, looks at the cupboards and says: "Are you kidding me? You have these basic ingredients here, add this stuff that's growing wild in the garden you didn't even realise you had, combine it with some stuff your neighbour has in their cupboard, and voila, recipe for success."
If you're looking at the four walls of your store and thinking, there is absolutely nothing I can do any differently here, try asking a Masterchef what they see. Your future customers will thank you for it. And that is important. Because the wellbeing of a community does rely on you in part. That's a big responsibility.
