There is an increasing movement in the way consumers are choosing to shop. Driving to the mall has become a much more costly proposition with the price of gas these days. Even saving a few dollars at the outlet stores does not justify the day trip. The allure of online shopping has faded with the absence of customer service, the cost of shipping and the hassle of returns.
Meanwhile, there is a growing interest in spending money locally. Why? Because more and more people are recognizing the value of locally owned businesses and are anxious to have them succeed. It is nice that the local merchant knows the name of your kid”s soccer team, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Local retailers bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the community each day.
For most of them, their business is a career, they are passionate about what they do and professional in the way they do it. They care about and are involved in their community because they usually live there. But it is more than that. Locally owned businesses bring real economic value to their community.
Several economic studies have shown that for every $100 spent in a local store, $45 is re-invested into the community because most locally owned business owners shop locally themselves. They are likely to use a local attorney, accountant, insurance broker, web designer, computer consultant and a printer. They carry a higher percentage of locally produced goods, meaning more jobs for local producers.
If a business moves or remodels, it may use area painters and contractors. Local merchants keep more of their earnings in their neighborhood bank branch where it is re-invested locally. They eat and play in the community and attend local service clubs and socials.
The San Francisco Retail Diversity Study, released in the spring of 2007, concluded that just a 10-percent shift in consumer spending from chains and Internet to locally owned retailers would create in a given area 1,300 new jobs and more than $190 million in increased economic output. Consumers would not have to spend more, just spend differently.
Locally owned businesses have a reduced environmental impact as well, because they can make more local purchases requiring less transportation, and generally set up shop in town centers as opposed to developing on fringes or outskirts. That means less sprawl, habitat loss and pollution. Non-profit organizations receive 350 percent greater support from local owners than from non-locally owned businesses. That is support for schools, the arts, social programs, the environment ? the list goes on and on.
Most people embrace the idea of distinctive businesses with local character, but often forget that the survival of these businesses depends on your patronage.
So, shop locally first. It”s a catch phrase, I know, but many proponents of locally owned merchants use it. It means exactly what it says ? if comparable goods or services can be purchased locally, make that your first choice whenever you can. And remember that saving isn”t just about money. Saving our community”s quality of life can be even more rewarding.
Lori Peters is executive director of the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce and co-owner of Wild About Books in Clearlake.
