Delivery snafu underscores buying local

The usual post-Christmas sales reports took an unusual twist this year, focusing on the delivery shortcomings of two of the biggest package carriers in the country.

Neither FedEx nor UPS would say how many packages failed to reach their destinations before Christmas.

But the howls on consumer websites and social media were loud enough to suggest the problems were hardly contained to an isolated few.

Some retail analysts regarded the delivery glitches as growing pains -- symptomatic of a consumer nation that increasingly shops with the convenience of points and clicks, rather than malls and parking lots.

But speaking of old-fashioned bricks and mortar, one could hardly blame more traditional retailers for finding some small pleasure as the online giants stumbled. Rocky Mount is fortunate to have enough retailers to satisfy a wide array of needs and tastes. Anyone who shopped locally didn’t have to sweat the ticking clock on Christmas Eve.

Keeping shopping dollars in the community had another positive impact, also. Sales taxes go to support local schools and government services. Buying something at a store in Rocky Mount helps clerks and managers stay employed. It might even mean that a cashier or stockroom assistant will later spend money on goods or services offered by your workplace.

The delivery issues that faced online retailers might have underscored some cracks in the foundation of professional delivery services. But they also remind us that spending an afternoon at a local shopping center has plenty of advantages, too.