WACO, Texas — “We have so much competition out there — from Amazon, Shein, Temu,” Carmen Robinson said.
Robinson is the owner of Urban Bliss Boutique on Franklin Avenue.
“I love what I do. I love fashion,” she said.
To help keep her dream alive, Robinson relies on the community to shop local — especially around the holidays.
“August to December are our best months, so that’s only five months of the year," Robinson said.
"It’s not even half of the year, that we rely on to get through the year."
Owner of Weekend Hippie, Lauren Jenkins, says it’s tough competing with the big box stores and online shopping.
“People definitely like the convenience of Amazon," Jenkins said.
"You can just go and click and get it."
Due to the convenience of online shopping, small business owners have had to get creative by giving customers an incentive to come in and shop around.
“When you spend a certain amount in store, you get a gift card," Jenkins said.
"If you don’t know what you're picking — to another local business."
To compete with Black Friday, 14 local business in Waco have come up with a Pink Friday event.
“It’s just a way that we all pull together to help each other out," Jenkins said.
"We’re not competition — we’re community.”
“I say this for every boutique owner; we do a happy dance with every sale that we do online or in-store."
For anyone interested in shopping local, Pink Friday will be Nov. 17 and 18 on Franklin Avenue in Waco.
