'Cash mobs' descend on small businesses, snap up merchandise

— -- It's a mob scene at some mom-and-pop retailers across the country.

Organized groups of do-gooders — "cash mobs," modeled after public-spectacle "flash mobs" — are descending upon small businesses, snapping up merchandise and rallying at pubs afterward to celebrate their pro-community mission.

The shopping sprees have taken place in dozens of cities from San Diego to Buffalo. The packs organize on platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, where they get details on where and when a strike will occur.

Farmers markets, toy retailers and hardware stores have been on the hit list. Mob members typically spend at least $10 to $20.

The altruistic acts provide much-welcomed economic and emotional support for small-business owners, says entrepreneur John Reburn, who was hit by a cash mob of more than 100 Wednesday evening.

His firm — Appalachia Press, a letterpress and silk-screening shop in Roanoke, Va. — rang up 54 sales in less than an hour as customers picked up stationery, books and prints.

"We did the equivalent of a Christmas shopping day in 45 minutes," he says.

The cash mob craze began to get social media pickup last year, and as word spread, so has the benevolence. Community activists, non-profit employees and regular people have led similar charges for their towns.

John Park, a Roanoke resident who organized the Appalachia Press raid, first heard about cash mobs in late February when friends e-mailed him about the phenomenon. Park, a financial planner, thought it would be a fun way to support local business.

He and friend Sam Rasoul created a small committee that considered different retailers and chose Appalachia Press.

For help planning the mission, Park turned to a blog, cashmobs.wordpress.com. It offered guidelines such as "the business must have products for both men and women" and "be within one block of a locally owned watering hole."

The Roanoke mob hit a barbecue joint for drinks after their shopping excursion.

The rise in this mob activity comes when many small businesses could use community support. Nearly 40% say declines in customer spending are one of the three most significant challenges to survival of their firms, according to a recent report from the National Small Business Association.

Reburn, who was alerted three days in advance, says the throng not only spurred sales, it boosted his spirits.

"There are months when you just wonder if you can continue and if (printing) just has to be a hobby and not your career," he says. "But this little cash mob was just so joyful. Even though it was just one night, it does make you feel appreciated."

And while the term mob brings up connotations of a melee, Reburn says it was a calm, pleasant experience when dozens of customers crammed into his 630-square-foot store.

"They were very respectful and there to have fun," he says.

The swarm was there to support local business, yet participants may get something in return, says Jennifer Baker, an assistant professor of philosophy at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.

Under the "virtue ethics" point of view, she says, if folks strive to continually do what they think is right, "It becomes second nature, and you end up with fewer worries and a better grasp on what is truly of value."