3/50 Project to Support Indie Retail

http://www.the350project.net/home.html

By Staff -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 3/24/2009 9:05:00 AMMinneapolis, MN — Former retailer, consultant and G&DA columnist Cinda Baxter launched The 3/50 Project to promote shopping at locally owned businesses. Originally debuted on Baxter’s blog, the project now has its own website.

“We ask consumers to think about which three stores they’d miss if they disappeared, then remind them to return there,” explains Baxter. “Fifty comes from the idea that if even half the employed population spent a mere $50 per month in locally owned retail stores, those purchases would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue.”

Baxter designed a free flyer for retail participants to download, print on a color printer, then hand to constomers with their purchases. “The idea is to look customers in the eye, put this right in their hands, and say ‘thank you for shopping in a locally owned store,’" she says, "rather than just pop these in the bottom of a bag and hope someone sees them.” http://www.giftsanddec.com/article/CA6646169.html?industryid=47350