Let me level with you

I’m just going to level with you guys, our little Sunshine Shoppe sees fewer customers every year, almost every month.

I totally get it. I know why. We can make a couple of clicks on our phone in the carline to pick up our kids and the next day whatever it is we needed/wanted is waiting on our doorstep. It’s a kinda magical and thrilling. Like a mini Christmas or birthday whenever we want! And we don’t have to unstrap the sockless toddler monster to go inside a store to get it!

We are in a time where local, family owned brick and mortar shops like our Sunshine Shoppe are struggling to keep up. Our overhead is more expensive due to walls, hard working employees, shipping costs and inventory losses. Even our wholesale pricing is often more expensive than the online or big box store options.

So we have been brainstorming and praying and praying and praying. We know we need to make some changes, some updates and I want to include our customers in on this planning for the Shoppe’s future. What will spur you to choose us over Amazon?

Here are some things we have thought of so far:

A blog…this blog…where I’ll post real life stuff about what we do as a ridiculously busy family to stay healthy using the tried and true recipes, herbs, vitamins, oils, teas, etc. that my great grandmother, Willie Joe, and my grandmother, Linda, have used from the day they dreamed of opening the Sunshine Shoppe and that I grew up on.

Giveaway baskets!!!!! Free stuff!!!!! Free GOOD stuff!!!! Each month we will giveaway a theme filled-basket to a lucky Shoppe customer. The more often you come in to visit us in the Shoppe, the more chances you have to win!!!

Loyalty discount cards!!! We want to thank you for choosing to support our business. The more you spend the more discounts you earn!!!!

Product sales!!! We will be highlighting different products throughout the year and putting them on sale so that you can either try something new or stock up!

We will still continue to offer nutrition coaching, place special orders for products you request but don’t carry, focus on stocking high quality third-party tested supplements, guide you toward the right combination or steer you clear from supplements that are unnecessary or potentially unhealthy for your individual needs. We know our companies, what they stand for, how they manufacture, how they test, why they are the best.

Expect to see more of us on social media hopefully presenting interesting content. What do you guys want to see? New product demos? Real reviews on our newest plant-based products? Recipes? New product lines you have been seeing in other blogs or on shelves in stores an hour aways?

This is my request, don’t give up on us. I know online ordering and one-stop stores are easier and maybe it really is just a matter of time before that’s all that’s left. But I believe that our purpose goes beyond food and supplement sales. We connect with our customers. We listen. We empathize when you tell us of a latest diagnosis or food allergy discovery. We celebrate when you share that your son is focusing at school once again. We worry and pray for you when we see that the care you have to give your loved one is leaving you feeling exhausted and lonely. We see people. Not clicks. Not sales. We see you.

Come in and see us. :)