Haha... This thread has turned into a debate..
It's so true.. We have a family business and over the last 6 years or so sales have dropped dramatically and the rent keeps going up.
I feel that the customer thinks you get the product for free and are making a huge mark up. But they don't see why things are expensive here. By the time you pay rent, workers, the product itself and ALL THE OTHER LITTLE OVER HEADS PEOPLE DON'T SEE, trust me there isn't much left for you.
I support the "local business" people whenever I can cause I know from 1st hand experience that they would be doing it tough. And to pay that little bit more shouldn't matter.
Australian retailers especially small businesses are finding hard to make ends meet anymore and I know A LOT of people who just pay their bills and have pretty much nothing left at the end of the week.