Lisetta Silvestri was in Concord for a business meeting and decided to pop in at Homebody, a home decor and lifestyle shop that was recommended by an interior designer friend.

It was her second time there and she was happy to be back.

“It just has a nice atmosphere and buying local, I don’t know, why does it feel so good?” she said. “Just because you like the people, and you want the money to stay in our economy. I mean, I buy a lot of stuff on Amazon too, but this makes me feel better.”

The shop at 134 North Main St. has a following.

Buying something online can look great on a computer screen, but it could be cheaply made, or just not what you were expecting. With the hassle of returns, it winds up being pushed into a corner or just thrown away.

That’s just one difference between buying local and shopping on the internet.

“They just find smaller known companies and they put them together in a creative way. They also seem to have their pulse on things that end up being special items and not clutter. You know, sometimes you buy clutter. That’s not clutter,” Silvestri said, pointing to the inventory at Homebody. “You know, they’re well made. They become heirlooms.”

Local businesses can beat online behemoths like Amazon in several ways, through their store atmosphere, customer service and product curation.

For Carolyn Herrick, the owner of Homebody, that means offering a relaxing vibe and locally made products that people really can’t find online.

“We get a lot of comments about it smells nice. The music is nice, it’s cozy, it’s warm, it’s a happy place.,” Herrick said. “So we get a lot of people that just enjoy being in here and enjoy the experience.”

Many old-school shoppers like dealing with a real live person, not a chatbot or untrustworthy website.

Besides, it doesn’t hurt to entice customers with deals like $5 of Homebody cash for every $50 spent, or events like a book signing, or even recipes and decorations tips sent through a newsletter.

Prime can’t touch it.

Herrick said she had her best November yet, out of the three she’s been in business.

“We were busy that weekend between Black Friday and Small Business Saturday and had a great Midnight Merriment. We were kind of wondering if the rain would keep people away but it seemed like people were still coming. We were busy.”

All along Concord’s Main Street, shoppers and merchants were happy to do business with each other, even as overall retail spending was expected to dip a bit this holiday season as inflation has left a little less in bank accounts.

The days of downtown shops battling big box stores have evolved to include new mega-competitors. Target and Walmart are still filled with products mass-produced in foreign countries, but the real competition is the online shopping cart, where consumers spend billions to make sure their package is delivered right to their doorstep.

Smack dab in the middle of Main Street is Pitchfork Records, a Concord institution that has been grooving downtown for almost 50 years. With those decades comes a dedicated customer base that keeps coming back.

This year’s Midnight Merriment at the start of the month turned out to be a big sales day, despite gloomy rain. Owner Mike Cohen said his sales were only off by two to three percent from the year before.

“It’s a consistent holiday that downtown Concord does,” Cohen said, as the Beach Boys played in the background. “A lot of people love to come down and partake in the activities and visit the stores and support local businesses.”

And that’s the point – supporting local businesses while enjoying the downtown experience.

It doesn’t hurt that Cohen happens to be sitting on a black gold mine in the form of vinyl records, which have been making a steady comeback to the point that his total sales this year are better than last.

“Vinyl records are huge right now, new and used, and we’ve increased our selection by about 200% in the last year. We still sell tons of CDs, new and used.” Cohen said.

But the price point of a vinyl record is higher, leading to more revenue.

“Vinyl is the biggest gift item in the country right now,” Cohen said. “People like to own a physical product. The younger people, meaning say 35 and under, missed out on vinyl so they feel as if they missed out on something. The older people appreciate the sound of the vinyl and it brings back fond memories.”

While customers can certainly buy refrigerators and cars online, buying precious jewels from a website might net a shiny piece of glass instead of a gemstone.

Sarah Huggins, owner of Gems First at 88 North Main Street, is having her best year of sales since opening her second-floor jewelry store in 2017.

“This year has been pretty phenomenal,” she said. “I’ve got some really wonderful new clients and I just love it. I love seeing everybody’s faces and catching up and hearing what they’re up to.”

She designs custom jewelry, which requires getting to know the customer and creating a unique one-of-a-kind item that can’t be found anywhere else.

But it all comes back to the service and the experience.

“I think the biggest reason is people really want to touch and feel things,” Huggins said. “I know I do. I’m not an online clothes shopper because I know it’s not going to fit. My clients especially want to work with a real person. And if there’s an issue, I can fix it. As opposed to if you bought something online, it may be difficult to return.”

Take that, Amazon.

Downtown brick-and-mortar merchants and their customers both want to preserve a relationship that’s becoming increasingly rare in an online world.

“I think that the merchants in downtown Concord are absolutely delighted as to how the public wants to support them,” Cohen said. “And we certainly appreciate the public support. The people really appreciate how wonderful our city is.”