In honor of National Small Business Week, April 29-May 5th, here are some reminders of the impact you can have when choosing to shop at local small businesses rather than online or at national retailers.

Every time you choose where to purchase goods or services, you have a powerful opportunity to make a difference in your community. When you choose local businesses and locally produced goods and services, you’re reinvesting money in your area and helping to create a stronger local economy. Here are some of the top reasons to buy local:

1. Greater Economic Vitality
The money you spend in locally owned stores has two to three times the economic impact of dollars spent at national retailers. Studies show that for every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $45 goes back into the community and the local tax base. By comparison, for every $100 spent at a chain store, only $14 goes back.

2. More and Better Jobs
For every two jobs a national retailer brings to a community, three higher-wage jobs are lost due to local businesses closing. Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and in local communities and they provide the most jobs to local residents.

3. Protection of Unique Culture
Local one-of-a-kind businesses reflect each area’s culture and character, contributing to tourism success.

4. Improved Product Selection
A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based on the needs of their local customers rather than a national sales plan, results in a much broader range of product choices.

5. Environmental Benefits
Big-box stores and other national retailers usually require large undeveloped land to accommodate their needs. Buying local means shopping closer to home, which means less sprawl and the resulting habitat loss along with reduced driving and oil dependence.

 
6. Increased Support for Community Groups
Local nonprofit organizations receive an average of 250 percent more support from smaller, locally owned business owners than they do from national companies.

7. Efficient Use of Taxes
Local businesses typically require a much smaller infrastructure investment compared to nationally owned stores that enter a community. A smaller investment enables the community to use public services more efficiently.

It may not always be possible to buy what you need from a local business, but it’s worth taking a minute to think local first.