Point, click, consequence

To the editor: Downtowns, Main Streets and business districts in places just like Warwick are fading nationally due in-part to the impact of online shopping. According to Comscore Networks, a global information provider and consumer consultancy, online non-travel spending during the 2005 holiday season (Nov. 1-Dec. 31, 2005) totaled $19.6 billion. That expenditure represents a 25 percent increase during the corresponding period in 2004. Expressed in different terms and translated for Warwick, as a result of increased online shopping during the 2005 holiday season there were at least seven UPS trucks servicing the Town of Warwick with primarily residential deliveries. Add to the equation the increased volume handled by Federal Express, U.S. Post Office and other carriers during this period and a national phenomenon becomes a very local reality. Without debate, there is a time and place for online shopping: No local alternatives, unavailability of specific merchandise, significant price differences, etc. However, there is a critical point when too many people direct too much spending online that tangible and irreversible consequences manifest themselves. The benefits of conscious decisions to support local businesses far outweigh the perceived savings of e-commerce and include: Recirculation of money within the local economy, availability of jobs at fair wages, retention of hometown integrity and identity, preservation of local character, diversity of choices, environmental sustainability and community well-being. So, before you are too quick to “point and click,” keep in mind the power of individual spending decisions and the role each of us shoulders in the vitality of the place we call home, Warwick. Michael McDermott Warwick Independent Business Alliance