Sometimes seemingly small acts have an impact bigger than you ever imagined. Take family spending. You may think you’re just fulfilling your family’s wants or needs when you shop or dine out. Think again.
The choice of where you spend your money makes a big difference to your community. Spending your money with local independent businesses puts it to work directly helping your local economy and creating jobs — just one way your community benefits from its independent businesses. They use goods and services of other local independent businesses--re-circulating your money 3 or more time longer locally than if you spend it at a chain*. This creates greater community health and prosperity.
Now imagine the impact on your community if everyone shopped local and indie. You can stop imagining and help make it a reality.
On November 20, communities around continent will be urged to “unchain” for just that one day—to maximize the impact of their dollars, make a statement about the importance of local independent businesses to the local economy, and inject potentially millions more into it through joining other residents to do their shopping, dining out and other business only with local independent businesses.
The AMIBA (American Independent Business Alliance) times this important message to reach citizens before they are inundated with a clutter of holiday ads and events. The hope is that they will carry this message with them as they do all of their holiday purchasing and other business.
Buying local can REALLY make a difference. For example:- Studies in Maine and Austin, Texas demonstrate that locally-owned businesses generate 3.5 times the local economic activity as chains.
- A study of 10 independent businesses and 10 chains in retail, restaurant and service in Andersonville, Illinois demonstrates independent businesses generate about 70 percent greater local economic activity per square foot and slightly more sales per square foot as chains.
- Studies in San Francisco and Grand Rapids, Michigan demonstrate the immense economic benefit to the community even a modest shift in personal spending can make.
- A study in New Orleans indicates, in addition to economic benefits of local independent businesses mentioned in previous studies, a similar contraction of the local economy occurs for a 10% shift of spending from local independents to chains.
Click for more studies on the impacts of local businesses and chains on communities and why there's no better time to buy local!
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