6 reasons you should buy local

Doing good in your community doesn’t have to take a lot of time. It can be as simple as choosing to buy local.

Increase the impact on the money you spend in your community by remembering six reasons it pays to buy local:

1. Double your dollar’s impact. Studies that compare chain stores to local businesses indicate that local shops keep between 47 and 65 cents of every dollar spent in the local economy, more than double the average of the chains.

2. Get great service. More than half of shoppers say small businesses have better customer service than larger counterparts.

3. Often small and local businesses are more involved in their communities, and that includes donations of cash, products, and services to charitable causes. Supporting local businesses can help support neighbors in need.

4. Creating a smaller environmental footprint, both by driving less and buying from businesses that tend to buy supplies from other small or local businesses. Neighborhoods that support local businesses tend to be more walkable and public transit friendly, too.

5. Contributing to a more vibrant community. When small businesses do well, then the communities around them tend to do well. There is longer, more sustained per capita income growth, and civic participation tends to be higher.

Find out the sixth reason to buy local, with more about research on how buying local can benefit you, at the STCU Money Blog.