Help Your Local Shops Out During COVID

Guys, the world has been on fire for several months, and we’ve all been watching as smaller businesses are struggling to stay afloat. Especially in the case of Pagan businesses, which tend to have a shorter lifespan anyway, this year is going to be a make-or-break it situation. Plenty of the witchy shops where I live — and probably where you live as well — have moved to a model that involves curbside pickup only, or which requires customers to mask up and have access to product in minimal numbers.

Whichever way your local shop has asked you to engage with them, it’s important that you still do patronize them. After all, your local metaphysical shop is the place you go when you need not just product, but also advice, knowledge, or even just companionship. I mean, let’s admit it, plenty of people go hang out in occult stores and never buy anything — they just like the atmosphere and the people. Now it’s time to pay your shop owners back, and buy stuff from them during quarantine, when they’re struggling to keep the lights on.

It’s a rare Pagan shop indeed that lasts more than a few years — your favorite store may be there one day, and vanish the next. That’s partly because, like any small independent business, a locally-run Pagan shop depends on local customers for its livelihood. If customers don’t patronize these shops, they vanish, because it’s not cost-effective to run a business that’s doesn’t make a profit. Now, more than ever, they need your help.

Remember, small shop owners tend to support the Pagan community. Sure, you might pay a couple of dollars more for that statue you’ve been wanting. But you’re also paying for something else that you won’t get by ordering online or from a catalog — community. Nearly every Pagan shop that is successful has eventually become a meeting place or networking spot for the local community, and that’s something worth keeping around.

Pagan shop owners often sponsor classes, workshops, book signings, public events, and meetups. Certainly, one of the goals of this is to draw more clientele to the shop — but it’s also of benefit to everyone else. There’s no Pagan Yellow Pages, so if you’re looking for other Pagans, the best place to find them is somewhere that Pagans hang out. Meet the shop owner, become a regular, talk to other customers, and soon you’ll know five times as many Pagans as you did before that shop opened.

It’s a no-brainer that local businesses help the economy in their community, because eventually they hire other people to do things for them. If you’re running a small Pagan shop, you might be employing painters, an electrician, a website designer, a sign-maker, and so forth. If you sell items on consignment, you can help other local vendors to make money as well. Prosperity has a ripple effect.

One of the biggest complaints in the Pagan community about local occult shops is “They’re more expensive.” Well, yes… sometimes. After all, smaller businesses aren’t usually buying supplies in bulk — there’s no Pagan version of WalMart (although that’s not a bad thing). Sometimes you might pay a bit more for a product — but you’re supporting someone who doesn’t have a giant mega corporation behind them. You’re paying for knowledge and expertise. Trust me, there’s no one at Amazon who’s going to spend an hour explaining all the different things you can do with that giant amethyst you just purchased.

So, while we’re all under quarantine, here are a few things to keep in mind when you’re shopping with your favorite occult store in your neighborhood:

1. If you don’t need product now, ask if you can buy a gift card to spend later. Also, try to avoid paying with cash if you can help it. Digital payments reduce the risk to employees, staff, and customers.
2. If shop owners tell you they have moved to a model that involves online or telephone orders, and curbside pickup only, follow their instructions. Don’t show up half an hour after you place your order, when they’ve clearly told you it won’t be ready until the next morning. Odds are good they have one person filling orders. Wait your damn turn.
3. If your local shop is open to customers, and they require you to use masks, get a temp check, leave your kids at home, or stay six feet away from each other, DO IT. Don’t give them a hard time. These are the rules. If you don’t like the rules, place your order for pickup and follow the guidelines in #2.
4. Write good reviews, and help the shop promote their business on social media. Most small businesses rely on word of mouth for advertising, so if you get great service and a cool product, tell your friends.
5. Don’t be a dick. These are unprecedented times we’re living in, and if you want your local occult store to be open when this is all over, you have to cut them a little bit of slack. Be patient — your need for crystals and herbs is not an emergency — and do what you can to help everyone else make it through. Be understanding, and be kind.

Image of The Witch Shop in Vesturgata by Professor Batty (Creative Commons License CC BY2.0) via Flickr