5 Reasons NOT to Shop Local
You hear it from us ad nauseum – shop local. Spend your money at local retailers. It infuses money into the local economy, supports your friends and neighbors, and encourages diversity!
Well, we say pish posh. Here’s all the reasons it doesn’t pay to shop local.
We don’t welcome all those tax dollars
I mean, what does all that sales tax revenue actually do? Other than support our local public schools, go into the general funds for improvements our city roads and other crucial infrastructure, help with economic development and tourism initiatives to attract visitors to spend their money here, fund public safety departments including police and fire, support parks and recreation programs to give our children a fun place to play and get some much-needed exercise, and develop our community into places that people want to live, work and play. That’s all.
Studies show that $68 of every $100 spent in local businesses stays right here in our community. Who needs that revenue? Our city, on the cusp of extreme growth, definitely does not.
You want the exact same fashions as everyone else
If you just can’t wait to wear the exact same pair of jeans, hats and tops as everyone else, you are in luck with the mass-produced fare that populates those big box stores. My personality is pretty boring anyway, so bring on the low-quality goods!
Anyway, our local creators that flood our markets, provide our local merchants with goods and give you amazing tastes that you can’t find anywhere else can always find other spots to sell their wares, right?
Dealing with big box stores is very relaxing
I mean, the driving in hordes of traffic (with gas over $3 a gallon), having to find a parking space in the heat, then wander aimlessly through a store that is probably already piping out Christmas music? That just sounds like my idea of a grand day. Also, I bet the CEOs of massive online retailers can totally use a fifth yacht.
For those who hate shopping or are too busy to shop can’t even buy local goods online anyway. COVID really drove home for them how to not set up online shops to sell merchandise, forcing you to make your way into their stores anyway.
Living wages are for people in large towns
The employees that staff our stores in our local businesses are just fine, right? It’s not just the business owners that don’t need the money, but the baristas, the servers at the Mexican restaurant down the block and those stocking the shelves at Ace Hardware and the feed store couldn’t use that extra revenue to put themselves through additional schooling, work on their start-up passion project or feed their family.
In case you were wondering, more than 58.9 million people are employed by small businesses. So more than a sixth of the US Population is currently thriving without any help from the consumers.
Supporting your friends and neighbors is so 2020
Didn’t all of this go by the wayside once COVID started going away? Yeah, we all pulled out our wallets and banded together in a time of need, but that’s all over now.
In case you were wondering, this entire blog post employs a heavy dose of sarcasm. Our small businesses are our lifeblood to a healthy economy, amazing cities where we want to reside, and diverse communities that get involved and give back to its citizens.
As we go into this holiday season, please think of all the local businesses you could be patronizing before Amazon, Walmart and Target. See our Find a Business section if you’re out of ideas on how to keep your dollars local.