Downtown Alliance - Salt Lake City, Utah

Shop owners want Black Friday shoppers to buy local instead

By Nkoyo Iyamba

Watch the video here.

The term "Black Friday" is like a four-letter word for local shop owners in Salt Lake City's Broadway District. They say stay out of the big shops, stay off the Internet, and come spend your money on a unique type of shopping experience.

At Jitterbug Antiques and Collectibles, owner Dee Jackman is trying to stop a growing trend.

"If people didn't start buying locally, businesses were going to start disappearing," Jackman said. "Within the last year and a half, six shops have gone out along Broadway."

For nearly three decades, he's packed his store's little space from ceiling to floor with a hodge-podge of antiques and collectibles.

"It's kind a sardine can now," Jackman said. "A few years ago I used to buy and sell it, and it wasn't so crowded. But now eBay and the economy and different things have change the whole face of shoppers.

Dee Jackman says his shop is not a huge money maker, but he still feels the impact of competing against the big time retailers and the Internet.

The shop is not a huge money maker for him, but he still feels the impact of competing against the big time retailers and the Internet.

"Since eBay started, I've slowly gone down; and the economy went in the bucket two years ago, and people are just scared," Jackman said. "They're hanging on to their money now, and they're not out buying like they used to."

That's not the case for Chicago resident Ted Mora. He collects trains, and Jackman's store is the only place he shops whenever he's in town visiting family.

Mora admits that shopping local can be a little more expensive but, he says big time retailers have nothing on the personal experience local shops have to offer. "You can do it online. But seeing a picture is one thing, but being able to hold it and touch it is another," he said.

Shopper Marne Skelton added that she thinks "the morale of the community would be boosted, not just the economy, but the emotions of everybody" if more people shopped locally.

The shops in the Broadway District frequently host free events to give locals a taste of what they have to offer. And then at Gateway Mall, about 40 local businesses will showcase their goods the day after Thanksgiving, at the Union Pacific Depot. It's called the "Old World Christmas Market." CLICK HERE for more information.