Significance of Shopping Local
When you shop local, you’re making a personal investment in your neighborhood and community. In fact, for every $100 spent, roughly $68 to $73 of it returns to local activity.
Money is kept in the community because locally-owned businesses often purchase from other local businesses, service providers, and farms. Purchasing local helps grow other businesses as well as our region’s tax base.
Whether you realize it or not, when you shop local you are individually stimulating the local economy with your support and in turn, helping shape your community’s unique character and personality.
- Local businesses are more likely to utilize other local businesses such as banks, service providers, and farms.
- For every $100 you spend at local businesses, $68 will stay in the community.
- Independent retailers return more than three times as much money per dollar of sales to the community in which they operate than chain competitors. Independent restaurants return more than two times as much money per dollar of sales than national restaurant chains.
- Small businesses employ 77 million Americans and accounted for 65% of all new jobs over the past 17 years.
- Local businesses are owned and operated by your neighbors! They care about and are invested in the well-being of your community and its future.
- Local businesses are more accountable to their local communities and donate more money to non-profits.
- Supporting local businesses is good for the environment because they often have a smaller carbon footprint than larger companies.