Ron Knapp, shopping at the Kirkwood Farmers Market last weekend, was visiting from his home in Glen Carbon, Illinois. | photo by Diana Linsley
This year, you’ll most certainly hear a familiar expression during the holiday shopping season: “Shop Local.”
You will soon be deciding where to spend your hard-earned money, nearby or online. Please know that each dollar spent locally yields an additional reward — you are helping to build your community economically and culturally.
Economically speaking, a far greater percentage of each dollar you spend locally is respent here and recirculated locally — 64% more, according to Businesswire.
Money spent here tends to stay here. As a result, the money you spend locally ignites local economic activity and builds our local tax base.
I’m not asking you to do without online retailers, just to think beyond them.
When you follow a dollar paid to a local retailer, you’ll see that a portion of it is respent by the shop owners for other goods and services offered by other local businesses.
Another portion is paid to our local governments for schools, libraries and infrastructure, and police and fire protection. Another portion is reinvested by each local entrepreneur in their business and property to improve your in-store experience.
Still another percentage of each dollar received by a local store is spent on wages and salaries paid to our fellow residents. The income these employees receive again recirculates through our local economy when they dine out, purchase goods or remodel their homes, for instance.
Moreover, for every $1 million spent locally, $4,000 is donated by local businesses to local charities, according to a Michigan State University study. By comparison, Walmart donates only $1,000 of every $1 million it receives, the study noted. So, shopping locally is also a social investment in your community.
I agree that it’s hard to ignore the convenience of online shopping delivered to your door in just a few days, or even the next day. For those who work full time and have a family, this may be a convenient option. Yet at a local shop, you receive your purchased goods immediately — same day service!
When you shop local, you can try on clothing and experience products before you buy them. Additionally, the local employees are engaging, accountable to you for good customer service and can share their product knowledge.
It’s also important to note that every category of products offered by Amazon is represented by a local store within 10 miles of your home. Just decide what you are looking for and type it into your search bar online as “__________ near me.”
It’s also hard to ignore the positive economic impact of a new large logistics warehouse that’s been constructed in an area of St. Louis that has been left behind. Amazon’s facility in North County, for instance, employs and trains about 1,000 people. This is what we want for our city.
But also understand that in Missouri, small businesses employ roughly 1.2 million people, according to the Small Business Administration. Two out of every three new jobs in Missouri are created by small businesses, not big box chains or online mega corporations headquartered elsewhere, the Small Business Administration noted in a Missouri Small Business profile in 2019.
It is the local store or shop within a 10-mile radius of your home that introduces our high school students to their first business interactions, helps college students develop business skills and build a resume, and offers locals a part-time or supplemental job. The local shop owner serves the community in this way and fills a need, all while introducing you to the products you want.
Local entrepreneurs also play a large role in shaping the culture of their communities. Their shops and businesses give the community identity, make it unique and provide the foundation for entertainment, recreation, dining and shopping.
New stores give our communities a contemporary feel, while offerings at established stores remain consistent and give our downtown character and personality. My colleagues in retail offer product lines that are constantly evolving in response to customer interests and feedback, not algorithmic data analysis of purchase preferences collected from online buying trends nationwide.
The 36th annual Webster Groves Holiday Walk was held on Sunday, Nov. 13. The event draws large crowds to the Old Webster area in support of local businesses. | photo by Ursula Ruhl
Spending your money locally is an investment in your community. Our neighbors have settled and stayed in our community because it is distinct and unique, and because there are numerous choices and options available. Imagine your community without your local retailer, without that character and charm, homogenized by online and absentee owner stores.
It is for these reasons that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce asks people to “Shop Small.” When you shop small, you are doing something big for your community. It’s an investment that’s a fulfilling experience for you, and it helps build a community that you are proud to call home.
Bill Sauerwein is the owner of Pedego Electric Bikes St. Louis at 801 S. Holmes Ave. He and his wife, Carla, have lived in Oakland for more than three decades.
