In 2018 Shop Local Raleigh sponsored an Indie Impact Study conducted by Civic Economics and the results are in! 12 local, independent businesses opened up their books and Civic Economics crunched the numbers to see how they measured up to their national competitors. As with our previous study conducted in 2012 – the results once again showed that independent businesses recirculate more revenue in our local economy than chains. A total of 47.5% of revenue from the businesses participating in this study will return to our local economy where only an average of 13.6% from national chains will stay in our community.
When you support local you are investing in your community by creating more jobs for residents, extra tax revenues for local governments, more investment in commercial and residential districts, and enhanced support for local nonprofits. If we as a community shifted just 10% of our spending from chains to independent retailers, an additional $5 billion in revenue would stay right here in our local economy each year. Will you make the shift and invest in your community by thinking local first and supporting independent businesses? View our directory to discover local businesses and organizations where you can #ShowSomeLocalLove. If you cannot find what you are looking for, please do not hesitate to reach out. We love helping people find local alternatives!
