Search the term “Shop Locally” on Google and you’ll find almost 30 million references. Obviously, it is an important subject and we, at ShopLocally.com (aka SpendLocally.com), take it very seriously (see our mission statement). We feel that the character and survival of different localities is dependent on the merchants in the area. A downtown without its locally owned shops, is nothing but a ghost town, or a “big box” anchored strip mall.

 In doing research for our website, we found many explanations of the importance of  shopping locally. The most succinct we found is from the San Francisco Locally Owned Merchants Alliance (www.sfloma.org) and is presented below, under "Ten Good Reasons."  As you're reading the list, replace San Francisco with the name of your hometown, and you’ll see the importance of shopping locally.

 For information on the Shop Locally movement, you can read an article entitled "Main Street Fights Chain Street" from The San Francisco Chronicle, written by Carolyn Said, and published on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 by clicking this link.

"Ten Good Reasons to shop at locally-owned businesses:" (from the SFLOMA)

    1. Significantly more money re-circulates in San Francisco when purchases are made at locally owned, rather than nationally owned, businesses: More money is kept in the community because locally owned businesses purchase from other local businesses, service providers and farms. Purchasing locally helps grow other businesses as well as the San Francisco tax base.
    2. Most new jobs are provided by local businesses: Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally, and in San Francisco provide the most new jobs to residents.
    3. Our one-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of our distinctive character: The unique character of San Francisco  is what brought us here and will keep us here. Our tourism businesses also benefit. “When people go on vacation they generally seek out destinations that offer them the sense of being someplace, not just anyplace.” ~ Richard Moe, President, National Historic Preservation Trust
    4. Local business owners invest in community: Local businesses are owned by people who live in this community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the community’s future.
    5. Customer service is better: Local businesses often hire people with more specific product expertise for better customer service.
    6. Competition and diversity leads to more choices: A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.
    7. Reduced environmental impact: Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases requiring less transportation and generally set up shop in town or city centers as opposed to developing on the fringe. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.
    8. Public benefits far outweigh public costs: Local businesses in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services as compared to nationally owned stores entering the community.
    9. Encourages investment in San Francisco: A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.
   10. Non-profits receive greater support: Non-profit organizations receive an average 350% greater support from local business owners than they do from non-locally owned businesses.