SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – On the first Tuesday in December, Skaneateles hosts their Shop, Sip, and Stroll event to help people get into the holiday spirit and check off some of their holiday shopping by stopping at local Skaneateles businesses.
“It’s a really fun night and it gives people just a chance to kind of get into the holiday spirit, not have to deal with a lot of crowds, and there’s always parking. And so it’s a great way to do some holiday shopping and spend some time with friends and family,” said Hillary Fenner, the executive director of the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce.
But Fenner said the event also highlights one of her favorite things about shopping locally: community.
“I think a lot of the stores here are competitive with online pricing, but you also make friends when you go into the stores,” she said. “And I think that beyond the physical items some of those relationships are relationships that have turned into friendships and I really treasure that.”
Fenner isn’t the only one who feels this way. Laura Keisoglou is the owner of The Wandering Kind a retail shop in Skaneateles. She said that, unlike big businesses, she has the chance to get to know her customers on a personal level and can curate her boutique to include things she knows they’ll like.
“It’s also cool because we know a lot of our customers pretty well. So when we go to shows, we almost think about the customer, like specific customers, when we’re picking something,” Keisoglou said. “And I’ll name a product after a customer because it just reminds me so much of them and I know they’re going to want that.”
At the end of the day, Keisoglou said it’s those connections that make her day more than a sale could.
“I actually look at my day as more did I have good connections with people that day more than I do sales because I really enjoy that human connection,” she said.
Because that’s something that makes shopping locally priceless.