At least half of Gen Z say their goal for 2022 is to avoid shopping in big-box stores

The next trend in New Year’s resolutions will have you ditching big-box stores: most Americans want to support more small businesses in 2022.

A survey of 2,000 adults found that since the pandemic began in March 2020, 76% have made an effort to support local small businesses.

The average person has regularly shopped with four small businesses outside of the food and beverage industry within the past year.

And three in five people believe small businesses have several advantages over larger big-box stores.

Seven in 10 said they’ve been able to find items at small businesses that they struggle to find in larger stores – particularly homemade goods (55%), fashion items and jewelry (40%), toys (36%), wellness products (36%) and books (33%).

Commissioned by GoDaddy and conducted by OnePoll, the survey revealed both Gen-Z (54%) and millennial (60%) generations couldn’t care less about stepping foot in a large chain store ever again.

Meanwhile, less than half of Gen-X (42%) and only 18% of boomers said avoiding big-box stores is their goal for this year.

The things respondents find the most appealing about small businesses are having interesting items for sale (49%) and the store’s atmosphere (44%).

However, many people believe small businesses have a long way to go. Twenty-nine percent said the biggest hurdle when shopping small is dealing with limited hours.

Likewise, 20% said they struggle to find new small businesses and 18% dislike dealing with shipping costs when shopping from small stores online.

Respondents have seen many small businesses struggle throughout the pandemic while seeing how others remained resilient by keeping up with the times.

Consumers appreciated how small, local shops evolved during the pandemic by including curbside pickup options (41%), contactless payment options (41%) and having an online store (36%).

Four in five millennials (82%) said they are more likely to purchase from a small business where they can place their order for delivery or pick up, while most boomers surveyed (52%) would not.

“There’s no questioning the benefits of shopping locally,” said Melissa Schneider, vice president of marketing and global operations at GoDaddy. “Not only are you supporting someone who is passionate about what they do, but there is also a sense of care and convenience that often can’t be seen in bigger chain stores.”

While 63% feel more confident about what they buy from local businesses, 61% will still shop from big-box competitors if they can't find what they're looking for in smaller stores.

Meanwhile, 68% would shop more from small businesses if they could purchase items online.

“Offering your goods or services online is the best way to keep people coming in through the doors, which might seem counterintuitive at first, but it really acts as a superpower,” continued Schneider. “Having an online storefront or online payment options, along with offering contactless payment options in-person, are all critical to consumers today.”

WHAT DO LOCAL SHOPPERS WANT POST-PANDEMIC?

Contactless payment options 37%
Curbside pickup 37%
Online stores 37%
Self-checkout 34%
Virtual/digital loyalty cards 30%
Mobile apps 30%
Ordering ahead online 26%
QR code menus 23%