Twice a year, campaigns are run about shopping local and supporting small businesses.
Question: If I shop at a local big box store isn’t that shopping local?
Answer: Yes and no. Shopping at a local big box store is shopping locally. The difference is that if you spent $100 roughly only $40 of those dollars stay in the community. If you shop a small local business from the same $100 spend roughly $68 stays in the community. These dollars go towards, jobs, schools, roads, police, and fire departments.
Question: If I shop online like at Amazon doesn’t the tax dollars stay in the state?
Answer: Yes, a small amount of the tax dollars stays in the State, but it doesn’t stay in your local community.
Shopping at local small businesses, you receive more personalized service. We all like the warm fuzzy feeling when we walk into a place of business and we are greeted by our first names. We thrive on the sense of community by having personal relationships with the owners and employees.
I like going to the post office and having one of the workers address “Viola”. She calls me by my last name because it was her grandmother’s first name. I like walking into the local coffee shop and having them remember my favorite bagel order. The hometown feeling, sense of belonging and personalized service is what makes shopping local a unique experience and keeps you going back again and again.
Benefits of Shopping Local:
1. More of your money will be kept in your local economy
2. You create local jobs
Local businesses are better at creating higher-paying jobs for your neighbors. When you shop locally, you help create jobs for teachers, firemen, police officers, and many other essential professions.
3. You nurture community and use their expertise.
Local business owners know you, and you know them. Studies have shown that local businesses donate to community causes at more than twice the rate of chains.
4. You made your community a destination
The more interesting and unique your community, the more we will attract new neighbors, visitors, and guests. This benefits everyone!
The Jerome Chamber has partnered with Jerome 20/20 on a Shop Local campaign. For the next 5 weeks, we will be having a contest. Simply take a photo of a receipt from a local Jerome business with a minimum $5.00 purchase and email it to the chamber [email protected] Drawings will take place every Thursday until December 17th. The winner will receive shop local gift cards and certificates.
Thank you to our sponsors: Valleywide Cooperative, Renew, McDonald’s, Beans and Brews, Burger King, Central Equipment Company, Con Paulo’s Chevrolet, and Ridley’s Family Market.
By: Cheryl Viola, Executive Director, MBA
References
10 inspiring shop local quotes. (2020, February 12). Retrieved from https://picksandgiggles.com/inspiring-shop-local-quotes/
Hanson, C. (2017, April 8). Why shop local? We got 6 fantastic reasons! Retrieved from https://www.thrivinglocally.com/why-shop-local/
What happens when you shop local. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.independentwestand.org/what-happens-when-you-shop-local/