For Sherree Lucas, owner and director of Go Local Asheville, the numbers confirm what she hears daily from her members: retail is holding on, but uncertainty dominates. “There’s still so much uncertainty and what many of our brick-and-mortars are experiencing is kind of up and down,” she said. Businesses see bursts of strong weekends followed by slow weekdays, as well as a seasonal ebb and flow, which makes planning difficult.

Much of that unpredictability stems from the region’s reliance on tourism. October—traditionally the busiest visitor month—has become a bellwether for retailers, determining whether the holiday season will deliver the revenue that sustains many shops through winter. While marketing campaigns emphasize that Asheville and our broader region are open after the disruptions of Hurricane Helene, businesses must balance reassurance to visitors with ongoing appeals for infrastructure recovery support. 

“We want tourists to know that there’s so much to do here, we’re back open, we still have so much of what you loved before,” said Lucas. “And on the other hand…we still need millions and millions of dollars to fix the infrastructure that’s still broken.’” 

Innovation has helped cushion the blows. Collaborative campaigns like Independent Retailer Month in July united groups including Go Local Asheville, the Downtown Association, and Explore Asheville around promotions such as scavenger hunts and pledges to shift spending from national chains to independents. Other creative partnerships—like displaying artist-made birdhouses in storefronts to promote a fundraiser for Bountiful Cities—brought fresh energy and customers into shops. “There were some really cool promotions that we all helped with,” Lucas said. “Whatever we could do to get people to walk in the door of a retailer.” 

Of course, there is a separate sect of retail featuring home- and web-based businesses, as well as mobile businesses, that may not have reaped the benefits of these campaigns, which were designed for brick-and-mortar. Go Local’s diverse membership features roughly 65 percent brick-and-mortar, 25 percent home- or web-based, and 10 percent mobile. Lucas estimates that only about 20 percent of membership are retail storefronts.

For Lucas, the future of retail is about more than just sales—it’s about sustaining a community where residents, schools, and businesses thrive together. The Go Local model builds awareness in the local community by offering discounts and promotions with the Go Local card. In turn, twenty percent of money raised by sales of the card is used to support local schools. This ecosystem—businesses, schools, and broader community—is deeply interconnected. 

“Our thriving economy is generated by local businesses,” said Lucas. “Some people don’t understand the interdependence of our schools with local businesses—it’s about wanting our kids to feel that they’re in a thriving economy and wanting our kids to stay…we want our youth to feel that if they come back, there are jobs for them here.”

Get your card at GoLocalAsheville.com.