Shop and Buy Locally!

Here’s what happens when you “shop locally" and support small business in Urbana:

• More of your money will be kept in your local economy. For every $100 you spend at locally owned businesses, $48 will stay in Urbana. What happens when you spend that same $100 at a national chain? Only $14 stays in Urbana. If you purchase from an online retailer-like Amazon-nothing will stay in Urbana, unless the delivery driver lives in Urbana. Then the driver will owe taxes on their income, which will be a minimal amount.
• You embrace what makes Urbana unique. You wouldn’t want your house to look like everyone else’s in the United States. So why would you want your community to look that way with the same chain-stores that are located in many communities across the nation?
• You create local jobs. Local businesses are better at creating higher-paying jobs for your neighbors. When you shop locally, you help create jobs for teachers, firefighters, police officers, and many other essential professions.
• You help the environment. Buying from a locally owned business conserves energy and resources in the form of less fuel for transportation and less packaging. 
• You nurture community. Local business owners know you, and you know them. Studies have shown that local businesses donate to community causes at more than twice the rate of chains. 
• You conserve your tax dollars. Shopping in a local business district means less infrastructure, less maintenance, and more money available to beautify Urbana. Also, spending locally instead of online ensures that your sales taxes are reinvested where they belong— in Urbana! 
• You create more choice. Locally owned businesses pick the items and products they sell based on what they know you like and want. Local businesses carry a wid­er array of unique products because they buy for their own individual markets. 
• You took advantage of their expertise. You are their friends and neighbors, and locally owned businesses have a vested interest in knowing how to serve you. They’re passionate about what they do. Why not take advantage of it? 
• You invested in entrepreneurship. Creativity and entrepreneurship are what the American economy is founded upon. Nurturing Urbana businesses en­sure a strong community. 
• You made Urbana a destination. The more interesting and unique your community, the more we will attract new neighbors, visitors and guests. This benefits everyone!

Source: Civic Economics – Andersonville Study of Retail Economics