Buy Local To Keep Money In Your Community.

When you shop local, more of your money stays local. Supporting locally owned independent businesses over national chains and franchises creates significant economic benefits for your community. Studies by Civic Economics highlight the “local multiplier effect,” showing that every dollar spent at a local business recirculates in the local economy two to four times more than a dollar spent at a national chain. 

Buying locally is an investment in our community. For example, a study in Salt Lake City found that local retailers return 52 percent of their revenue to the local economy, while chain retailers return just 14 percent. Local restaurants were even more impactful, recirculating 79 percent of revenue locally compared to 30 percent for chain restaurants. 

These patterns have been consistently observed in multiple regions across the United States: Directing spending to small, locally owned businesses supports job creation and fosters stronger economic outcomes. Research also links higher levels of local business activity with increased employment, higher income levels, and lower poverty rates.

Large corporations are not the primary drivers of sustainable local economic growth. Choose local first and invest in the economic vitality of your community.

Sources:

Indie Impact Study Series: A National Comparative Survey with The American Booksellers Association, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2012

Indie Impact Study Series: A Comparative Survey, Dane County, Wisconsin, 2022

Local Matters: Investigating Influence, Massachusetts, 2021

Does Local Firm Ownership Matter?, Economic Development Quarterly, Volume 25 Issue 3, August 2011