Big box stores such as Toys ‘R’ Us, Sears and K-Mart  are some of the many affected by plunging sales. An issue those companies keep pointing towards are online sales are hurting in-store sales. However, small retail businesses in Jefferson aren’t feeling the same effects.

Addie’s is a women’s clothing and accessory store and Owner Heidi Naberhaus says her customers enjoy being able to try on the clothes in her store.

“My customers have even told me that they enjoy the service that they get at the smaller shops. They enjoy the items that they don’t see everywhere else. Most all, they like to be able to try things on and get our opinion on fit, they like to see how they’re made, and they also like to have us put together whole outfits with accessories and shoes. They seem to prefer the customer service most of all.”

Fudge’s Flowers and Gifts Owner Bonnie Silbaugh says she feels the entire community wants to support all of the small businesses.

“It’s a sense of community. People want to support local and they want to work with people they know. It’s very convenient just to come up town, walk through the beautiful Main Street District, go from store to store and get advice from people they know. I think people use online shopping when they have to get something they can’t find. But if they can find it in town and we can help them with that, any of the business owners are happy to do that and I think they (the customers) can tell that we want to help them.”

Silbaugh adds that she uses social media to let people know what she has available in her store, but believes customers still want that face-to-face communication before they make a purchase.