You might’ve noticed something strange happening on Main Streets across the country. Where there used to be empty windows, faded “For Lease” signs, and dark interiors collecting dust, there are now open doors, handwritten chalkboard signs, and the low hum of real life returning. In 2025, independent retail isn’t just surviving—it’s starting to feel alive again.
It’s not exactly the comeback story anyone saw coming. After years of online shopping dominating the market and big-box stores cutting prices lower than local shops could dream of, most people thought the independent storefront was on its last legs. And yet, here we are. People are wandering into boutiques again. Kids are grabbing after-school snacks from corner shops. And the local bookstore? Somehow, it’s busier than it was five years ago. The question is: what changed?
The Shift Back to Human Connection
At the heart of the retail rebound is something money can’t buy: the feeling of being known. Somewhere along the way, after thousands of cold online transactions and support chats with bots, people remembered that they actually like being greeted by name. They like that the woman at the front counter remembers how they take their coffee or that the shop owner asks how their kid’s soccer tournament went.
Big online stores offered convenience, sure. But they couldn’t offer belonging. And it turns out, especially after the isolation of the pandemic years, that kind of human connection is worth something. Maybe not in dollars at first—but in loyalty, in word of mouth, and in community energy that can’t be faked or bought.
Even younger shoppers, who grew up tapping their phones instead of ringing a bell above a wooden door, are finding value in the experience of shopping small. They’re not abandoning online entirely, but they’re choosing local more often than anyone predicted. There’s something refreshing about browsing shelves that someone actually curated by hand instead of being served an algorithm’s idea of your “taste.”
Financing That Doesn’t Just Favor the Giants
One thing that’s changed quietly but significantly in recent years is how small business owners are accessing money. The financial side of launching or expanding a shop used to be almost comically tilted toward people who already had capital or connections. Banks were slow, the paperwork was endless, and many simply got a hard no without much of a reason.
But in 2025, access has started to shift—especially with new tools that speak directly to the specific needs of shop owners. One of the more popular options right now is retail business loans. Unlike traditional loans that can feel like a maze of terms and conditions, these are built around how independent stores actually run.
They’re faster to access, flexible with repayment schedules, and made to support real-world situations like restocking inventory ahead of a big season, upgrading an old POS system, or finally building out that second fitting room you’ve been dreaming of. It’s helped level the playing field just enough to let scrappy entrepreneurs get off the sidelines and into the game.
That little cash boost—when used smartly—can be the thing that separates a good idea from a real operation. It’s helping breathe life into streets that were going quiet. And the result is something people can see and feel in their own neighborhoods.
The Side Hustle Mentality Evolves
For years, side hustling was all about digital work. People drove rideshares, sold used clothes online, or managed freelance gigs from their laptops. But a shift is happening, and it’s not just about what makes money—it’s about what feels worth doing.
Opening a physical space, even a small one, is starting to look less like a massive risk and more like a fulfilling next step. A lot of side hustlers who once sold candles, vintage clothing, or baked goods from home are now popping up in short-term retail spaces, weekend markets, or shared storefronts. They’ve realized that having a physical presence gives their brand a kind of credibility and staying power that digital-only businesses can struggle to achieve.
And while the overhead can be intimidating, people are learning to start small. They’re skipping traditional leases in favor of pop-ups and collectives. They’re sharing spaces with other makers or renting display corners in established shops. It’s retail on your own terms, and it’s working because the community is showing up for it.
Hyperlocal Is the New Premium
One of the biggest surprises in all of this is just how much people care about where something comes from. “Locally made” used to be a nice idea. Now, it’s a selling point strong enough to beat out mass-market prices in a lot of cases.
It’s not just about the product—it’s about the story behind it. People want to know who made their soap, who roasted their beans, who designed that necklace. When they can shake hands with the person who made it, it adds a layer of value you can’t replicate through glossy branding.
This has led to a rise in what some are calling micro-retail. Small shops that focus on a very narrow niche—just plants, just teas, just board games—and do it really, really well. Because if you’re going to leave your house to shop in 2025, you want it to feel special. You want it to feel personal. And these little stores deliver that in a way big chains simply can’t.
It’s Not Just Nostalgia—It’s a New Way Forward
Some folks chalk the retail comeback up to nostalgia. And sure, there’s probably some of that in the mix. But this isn’t just about wanting to relive the past. It’s about people choosing a different kind of future.
We’ve been through an age of frictionless everything—same-day delivery, one-click checkouts, automatic renewals. But all that ease came at a cost: less connection, less intention, and a lot of burnout. Small shops offer a reminder that commerce doesn’t have to feel like a transaction. It can feel like a relationship. It can be slower, more meaningful, and maybe even joyful.
The comeback of independent retail isn’t loud. It’s not flashy. It’s a quiet return to something that was never broken—just buried under years of convenience. And now that it’s being dusted off and reimagined, it’s turning out to be more relevant than ever.
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More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Upgrade ($200) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $200 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $200 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($900) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $900 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
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