The university’s Main Street features numerous shops, restaurants and cafes for every student to enjoy. However, college students may overlook the many options available in local corner shops due to the online shopping world.
When scrolling through social media posts, several ads or influencer posts pop up with the most up-to-date products. With one click, the website is opened and an order is ready to be placed. Many college students find online shopping to be ideal when living on a college campus.
“You don’t have to worry about lines or crowds and can purchase all of the essentials you may need in an instant,” Alyssa Baronio, a junior sports management student, said.
Competition on Main Street is already tense, with spaces turning over quickly from owner to owner. One example is Rooted, a small shop with local goods and gifts. Rooted overtook the space at 108 E. Main Street that was previously Heart and Home, another gift shop, until it left in 2020.
Rooted’s owner, Betsy Beeler, feels that online shopping does pose a threat to her business, but maintains that small businesses are still something consumers want to see.
“People are shopping more online, and that does scare me a bit, but I also feel like people want a reason to go out,” Beeler said. “It’s cozy when you come in, you know? It smells good, people are nice, it’s cute and that gets people out the door.”
Going into a local gift shop like Rooted rather than ordering online provides a different type of experience as some people feel small businesses provide a unique atmosphere and sense of comfort that cannot be replicated online.
Aside from gift shops, there are also many coffee locations to choose from on Main Street, some being more popular than others.
The call of caffeine is a familiar sound for students who often seek a midday pick-me-up or a morning boost. Popular spots among them include Dunkin’, Starbucks, Brew HaHa! and locally-owned Drip Café. Drip has both the location and the technology that attracts students to choose their small business, as manager Amber Pabron explains.
Drip has implemented an app where students can sign up to earn points in order to get free items like handcrafted beverages, lattes or pastries.
Pabron mentioned that by giving students discounts, Drip Café receives more business, especially from college students who are often tight on money.
“I think that for the quality of food and the atmosphere that we’re giving students a pretty good deal,” Pabron said.
Short on cash or not, the desire for coffee in a college town will most likely stay strong.
With fears that the economy is being dominated by the rise of online sales, it is becoming increasingly important for small businesses to discover a way to stand out and survive.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, online shopping sales over just three months in 2023 totaled up to be $285.2 billion dollars.
Perhaps there is a secret recipe that some small businesses have discovered, but for others, it may take some trial and error to attract a steady crowd while located in a college town.
“I really do like going into gift shops with my mom and grandma, but since I’m in college and don’t really get the chance to, online shopping is a lot easier for me,” Baronio said.