Grand Forks business owners say customer care, dedication to community are vital in today's retail world
Delaney Otto, Grand Forks Herald
6 min read
Oct. 14—EDITOR'S NOTE — The following is part of an occasional Herald series about how small businesses in Grand Forks are working to compete in a changing retail world.
GRAND FORKS — The Lighting Gallery — in a new location that's brightly lit each night near South Washington Street — has grown and moved over the years. Some customers have been shopping at the store since it first opened in 2000, according to owner Sonia Roberton.
Not far away, Paula Anderson's Sterling Carpet One Flooring & Home exists in a large showroom on busy 32nd Avenue.
Both offer all sorts of home decor, lighting and home accessories, but there's one thing they say builds trust with customers and keeps them coming back, year after year: service.
"You don't walk in here and just pick something off the floor without somebody helping you," Roberton said.
And that kind of service, both Roberton and Anderson say, provides an experience to customers that can't be provided by big box stores.
Success from that service also means the businesses can give back to the community. One way is through donations to local organizations like hockey clubs, or to physical spaces like skating rinks or the future Grand Forks children's museum, all of which Roberton mentioned when discussing her contributions to the community. The more business her store gets, the more she can give back.
"My donations this year are triple what they were last year," she said.
In July, the Herald
gathered a number of small-business owners
to discuss local businesses, their tribulations and successes. Only businesses that are challenged by online shopping were invited; a few admitted concerns in the face of the nation's changing shopping habits.
As reported in a post-meeting story in the Herald, more than three-quarters of consumers in the U.S. have
shopped for items on the web
, according to Statista, a provider of market and consumer data. In 2022, e-commerce in the country brought in
$819 billion
, data shows, and digital shopping is forecast to continue growing year after year.
Although e-commerce is growing, the majority of total retail sales still comes from brick-and-mortar stores.
Amid the trend, the owners of The Lighting Gallery and Sterling Carpet One Flooring & Home report they are holding their own since they opened in the early 2000s. They say other stores may sell similar items, but it's customer service that brings back shoppers. It's also about the experience.
"I think in today's world you either provide the service, or you better provide the price," Roberton said. "Because if you don't give the service, they're not willing to pay for the price."
Roberton is convinced that kind of service builds loyalty.
Online stores don't have the in-person experience of talking with an employee, who may have been particularly chosen and trained to know what they're selling. Anderson said she trains all of her employees, and it's a deep knowledge in what they do that keeps customers coming back.
"That's why they come back, because they know that we'll take care of them," Anderson said. "They know that we'll stand behind our product. They know that we're the experts in the field."
Well-informed, well-chosen employees are important, Roberton said.
"I know the kind of service that I want to provide," she said. "I know the kind of business and the integrity, and I've got to find that right person who has those morals and values, too."
Anderson began Sterling Carpet One when she purchased Grand Forks Glass & Paint in February 2009. She said the business had been struggling and she felt that locally owned, locally managed stores can offer more than box stores.
Roberton opened the Lighting Gallery in June 2000, starting "from the ground up." She previously worked for Border States, but when it shut down the showrooms to go more into electrical wholesale, Roberton saw it as an opportunity. She recently moved the business into a new building, on the corner of 36th Avenue South and South Washington.
Both Anderson and Roberton are hands-on owners. Roberton said it's important for an owner to "be the face of your business."
"I think it becomes very easy to have your employees do all the work. A lot of times you go into business ... and you'd never really see the main person behind it," she said.
However, she added, "people want to work with the people that are running (behind the scenes)."
During the COVID pandemic, some customers didn't want personal service. According to the International Trade Administration, in a report on its website, notes "a distinct boost to e-commerce sales channels" during the pandemic. And although online sales fell in 2022, some consumers became more acclimated to online shopping, according to the administration, which also predicts steady online shopping growth through at least 2025.
Roberton said the Lighting Gallery was fortunate. While people were at home during the pandemic, they decided to do more remodeling and work on their houses. That meant more business for the store.
She isn't certain about the future, though.
"The next year will be interesting," she said. "With interest rates up, building costs up, election year and what's happening in the stock market, it's going to be a big deal. It's going to be a big decision-maker as to what happens. Will we survive it? Absolutely. Will it be what it has been in the past? I don't know."
One thing that's certain, both Roberton and Anderson say, is the importance of small businesses and their relationship with the communities in which they're located.
"As a local business owner, I'm supporting the community, and I can't support this community unless the community supports me," Anderson said. "We all know how easy it is to order products online, and I don't think people realize the effect it has on local business owners and how it trickles down to their community."
The taxes from brick-and-mortar businesses contribute to local government revenues. The owners and employees serve on local boards and volunteer for civic groups and events.
They also make various donations to support clubs, events and organizations. When revenue slows, so do those donations.
During the pandemic, Roberton said she observed, on a national scale, the effect small businesses closing had on the communities they served.
"It came from a national level when they started talking about what small business really means, and what it means for main street America," she said. "And when we started to see those declines, you started to see communities decline. ...
"It doesn't make it a community to have nothing but big box stores."
