By Cheryl Jahn

Big Box v.s. small business

Feb 21, 2020 | 4:19 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The Lowe’s sign at Pine Centre Mall is gone, officially closing the doors on that store. It will be joined by the Northern, with tomorrow as its final day. The closures prompted CKPG Today to ask residents “… would you like to see more big box stores in Prince George or small businesses?” The results showed that 53% preferred small businesses and the remaining 47% liked big box stores.

“I really thought that I would see a greater shift to the local, small businesses now,” says Kim Hayhurst with Hey K Marketing. “With online shopping and the marketplace being open on a much bigger scale, that the big box experience is quite impersonal compared to shopping at a local store.”

However, she also notes that Prince George services a much larger population that lives within our boundaries. Costco on a Saturday afternoon speaks to the number of out-of-towners who come to the city to shop. and that could drive those numbers up.

She also notes that, with so many options at a person’s fingertips, literally, it’s even more important to market your business than ever before.