Tis the season to shop local
Independent We Stand would like to remind all shoppers that they can give a gift to their community this holiday season by simply buying locally.
This holiday season, the average person in the United States will spend $704.18 on gifts for friends, family and loved ones, according to the National Retail Federation.
And if just a portion of that amount — $100 per household — was spent in locally owned, independent businesses such as outdoor power equipment dealerships, more than $7.8 billion* would be directly returned to the local economies of communities around the country.
Independent We Stand (IWS), a movement of independent business owners around the country, advocates shopping local and is helping both consumers and small-business owners this holiday season make a difference in their own communities. New at www.IndependentWeStand.org is a calculator designed to show just how much local economic impact is made when consumers shop in independently owned businesses this holiday season.
Recently named ‘Website of the Week’ on MSNBC’s “Your Business,” the Independent We Stand website is packed with free resources including:
Resources for consumers
Economic Calculators: IWS has two economic impact calculators that help consumers learn how shopping locally directly benefits their community. Search by metro area to learn how much would be locally reinvested if just $10/month was spent at a locally owned business instead of a national chain. Or, use the new holiday calculator to learn how just $100 of holiday shopping at a local business can mean to a community. As an example, residents of Portland, Ore., would see $57.6 million reinvested locally if every family in their metro area shifted $100 of their holiday budget to locally owned, independent businesses.
Local Business Database: With more than 70,000 locally owned, independent businesses listed in the searchable database, and more being added every day, IWS makes it easy to find a locally owned business. Simply enter a zip code or city and state.
Resources for small businesses
Free Marketing Materials: Independent We Stand provides free print ads, posters, flyers and web badges for small-business owners to promote their local economic impact to their customers. New this season is a series of three holiday posters that can be printed & posted in store windows, or e-mailed to customers.
Free Business Listing: Business owners and consumers can register locally owned, independent businesses at no charge to help locally minded customers find locally owned businesses.
About Independent We Stand
Independent We Stand is a movement of independent business owners across the country to inform their communities about the importance of “Buying Local” and how these efforts bolster their local economy. This movement supports all local and national causes committed to boosting local economic development projects. The Independent We Stand movement is sponsored in part by Stihl Inc. For more information, visit www.IndependentWeStand.org.
*Based upon Civic Economics Andersonville Study of Retail Economics finding: When you spend $100 at an independent business $68 returns to the local community versus $43 when spent at a national chain. Based on U.S. Census projection of 115 million households.
