Is There Room to Buy Local?
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
“Do you know what I think? That main street is making a comeback back,” said my small-town Kansas-raised Dad – and he wasn’t referring to the economy. Triplepundit.com’s recent article Buy Local. Grow a Sustainable Economy agrees with my dad (and apparently many others). It states that “Evidence is growing that ‘going green’ is a community-centric economic mega trend that is creating revenue growth for businesses and meaningful local economic development.” But, is there room to buy local in our lives?
“Local” technically means “existing in or belonging to the area where you live, or to the area that you are talking about.” That includes corporate chains, which can provide more convenient, lower-cost familiar brands than local small business equivalents can. But to me, buying “local” means that the point of purchase is within three miles of my home and, if given the option, one considers or selects a small business over a corporate one. For many, that might be easier said than done for the following reasons:
It’s more expensive to shop locally. It might not cost as much as you might think. It costs approximately $150 per person per month to purchase the groceries listed on the government’s Thrifty Food Plan. A Digital Journal studysuggested that that same person would spend an extra $10.32 to eat locally. And don’t forget the transportation costs you can forego by staying within a three mile radius. You might even be able to leave your car at home and self-power your way there.
But my local store doesn’t carry (insert brand name). According to Susan Witt, Executive Director of the E.F. Schumacher Society, if consumers turn online or to a chain store for a certain product, it can actually help local businesses better identify and innovatively fill gaps in the market place. Remember, many new companies begans as small local businesses.
Big corporations already contribute a lot to my community. Great! But there is room for more. A case study by Civic Economics on Austin, Texas found “local merchants generate substantially greater economic impact than chain retailers.” The study revealed that if someone was to spend $100 at a chain, only $13 would be funneled back into the economy. However, if one spent $100 at a local business, about $45 would go back to fuel the economy. That is not to say we should depend solely on local businesses but rather that if we make room for small businesses, they might be able to better fuel our communities’ growth than a large store might.
There are only corporate chains in my neighborhood. Keep an eye out for and try a new small business if it opens in your neighborhood. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you find.
There really is no good reason to not try to buy local. ShoreBank is committed to developing small businesses in our communities. What are you doing to make room for local businesses?
