Retail remains a significant piece of Western North Carolina’s economy, employing 45,536 people across the 18-county region in 2025. That represents an increase of 2,372 jobs, or 5 percent, since 2020. Buncombe County accounts for the largest share, with 17,001 retail jobs, followed by Henderson County with 5,566 and Watauga County with 3,510.

But the significance of retail extends beyond employment. Across Western North Carolina’s small towns, independent retailers help draw visitors downtown, support makers and other businesses, and create the sense of place that distinguishes one community from another.

For retailers themselves, that role comes with a complicated operating environment. Tourism remains essential in many communities, while inconsistent foot traffic, thin margins and competition from online shopping require business owners to continually adapt.

Carly Burns, who co-owns Carly & Cass Boutique with her daughter, Cass Burns, operates two locations in downtown Sylva as well as a third store in Asheville. She said tourism and local customers serve different but equally important roles.

“Tourism brings new people in our doors and is a huge part of the downtown economy overall but our local customers are really our foundation,” Burns said. “They are the people who constantly come back throughout the year, tell their friends about us and support us when tourism slows down.”

The stakes of fluctuating traffic can be especially high for independent businesses. There is a significant difference between a busy Saturday and a quiet weekday, and small retailers lack the resources of larger companies to easily absorb slow periods.

At Newfound Artisan in Brevard, owners Emma Zanetti and Doug Miller have experienced that challenge at the scale of a single city block. Their store is downtown but sits just off Main Street.

“Being one block off Main Street, you might lose 60 or 70 percent of the foot traffic,” Miller said. The business has responded by diversifying with workshops, partnerships with other businesses, and handmade goods for resale and client gifts.

Newfound Artisan also demonstrates how retail spending can ripple through the region’s creative economy. Zanetti intentionally buys work outright from artists rather than relying primarily on consignment, giving makers payment immediately. Miller said the store also works with newer artists on pricing their work appropriately.

That broader economic influence is something Lisa Gibbs Meadows, owner of Indigo Mountain Traders in Murphy, said is often overlooked. At her business, tourists and second homeowners account for about 85 percent of customers.

“We’re not just a stop on someone’s trip,” Meadows said. “We’re constantly referring customers to other shops. We tell people where to eat.” 

Despite wider concerns about retail, Meadows sees reason for optimism. Indigo Mountain Traders is more than 20 percent ahead of last year, she said, after opening during a multiyear period of downtown construction.

“[Consumers] seek out these small towns where they can walk through the town, they can shop, they can have lunch, they can hear some live music, they can go into a museum,” she said. 

That experience may be independent retail’s strongest defense against the convenience of e-commerce, and what will determine the success of the retail industry in coming years.