Shop Locally

Support the independently owned businesses in your community!

$68 vs. $43 — Local businesses support local economies!

Several recent economic studies have concluded that locally owned independent businesses reinvest far more money in their local communities and economies than chain stores do.

One study* determined that for every $100 spent in their stores, local businesses give back $68 to their local economy. By contrast, for every $100 spent in national chains, those companies return only $43, meaning that those chain stores take away $57 from that same local economy.

Patronize your local businesses. Good sense for you good cents for your local economy!

* The Andersonville Study by the Civic Economics group can be read online at: www.andersonvillestudy.com

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Top Ten Reasons to SHOP LOCALLY

  1. Local character and prosperity. Your community’s local character and prosperity thrive when you support its unique and diverse locally owned businesses.
  2. Community well-being. Local businesses foster community well-being by building strong neighborhoods, sustaining communities, and contributing more to local causes.
  3. Local decision-making. Local ownership means local decision making by people who live in the community and share in the effect of those decisions.
  4. Local economic benefits. Keeping your money in your local economy supports local jobs, funds more local services through sales tax, and invests in neighborhood improvement and development.
  5. Local jobs and wages. Locally owned businesses create more jobs locally and, in some cases, provide better wages and benefits than chains do.
  6. Entrepreneurship. Local entrepreneurship fosters economic innovation and prosperity.
  7. Public services costs. Local stores in town centers make more efficient use of public services and community infrastructure than big box chain stores.
  8. Environmental impact. Local stores help sustain vibrant, compact, walkable town centers, which in turn are essential to reducing sprawl, automobile use, habitat loss, and air and water pollution.
  9. Healthy competition. A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses across our country fosters healthy competition and ensures innovation and low prices over the long term.
  10. More choices for you. An abundance of small locally owned businesses, each selecting its own product mix, guarantees a much wider range of product choices for everyone in the community.

Adapted from the work of Stacy Mitchell, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, www.hometownadvantage.org. Sign up for the free Hometown Advantage e-bulletin.

Recent articles about the growth of public support for locally owned and operated, community-based independent businesses show that people understand better every day why shopping locally and keeping money in our own communities is so important!

AMIBA — the  American Independent Business Allance — is an excellent resource for anyone interested in “Local First” initiatives.  The information below is from their current e-newsletter and their website.

News from AMIBA


Localization Movement Gaining National Attention
As more communities recognize the importance of local ownership and launch IBAs, USA Today, Business Week and other media outlets are taking note. If you do not yet have a local Alliance, such articles can help you sell the idea.
 
Consumers get frugal, so retailers get creative (USA Today). This lengthy article includes a section on “emphasizing local ownership,” noting the compelling holiday survey we reported on last month and quoted AMIBA co-founder Jeff Milchen distinguishing value from cheapness.
 
To Beat Recession, Indies Launch Buy-Local Push (Business Week Online) features the work of AMIBA and BALLE groups. The reporter, John Tozzi, also produces the New Entrepreneur blog, which often covers news relevant to IBAs.

Independent Businesses Get Organized (“Mining the Store” blog)

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