When I hear the word “mob,” I think of the crime rings, The Godfather, and other lawless groups/gangs. But today, I learned of another type of mob – a “cash mob” that actually has a conscience.
According to several web sites, a cash mob is a flash mob that is formed organically, mostly through social media, whose goal is to help locally owned businesses increase sales.
These groups find a small local business that may be struggling to compete with the ever-larger retailers. These cash mobs are not sponsored by the business or advertised, and are instead organically grown through Twitter, Facebook and other social sites.
There are some guidelines but no real rules on how to organize a cash mob. The owners are usually contacted and made aware of the date so they can prepare, but most of the time, the people in the mob are only given a date and location to show up. Mob members are encouraged to spend at least $20 during the event.
There are some great stories on cash mobs, the most recent I read about was from MSNBC. According to the story, a cash mob of 800 people visited what is believed to be the oldest 5&10 store in the US, located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The mob generated 526 sales, many times more sales than any other day. Read more about it here.
What an awesome idea! Of course, it’s only one day of amazing sales, but it could be a great introduction to why buying local is so important and rewarding.
Do you have a favorite local store you try to frequent as much as possible? What do you think about this idea? Let us know if you participate in one of these good for business mobs.
Here’s a helpful site that may help if you are interested in organizing a cash mob.
Sandi Duncan is the Managing Editor of the Farmers' Almanac. 
If you notice a hole in the upper left-hand corner of your Farmers' Almanac, don't return it to the store! That hole isn't a defect; it's a part of history. Starting with the first edition of the Farmers' Almanac in 1818, readers used to nail holes into the corners to hang it up in their homes, barns, and outhouses (to provide both reading material and toilet paper). In 1910, the Almanac's publishers began pre-drilling holes in the corners to make it even easier for readers to keep all of that invaluable information (and paper) handy.
1 comment
If you can’t “mob,” The 3/50 Project is another way to go.
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