Local Business & the Economy |
Over The Rainbow Toys is proud to be Alasa owned and operated. We serve the community we're close to and run every aspect of our business with consideration fo the uniques needs of our neighborhood, our city, and our state.There are a lot of reasons to support locally owned businesses in any industry. The Economics of Local - A 2002 Economic Impact Analysis in Austin, Texas, was one of the first major studdfies to examine the impact of shopping at locat businesses versus national chains. It found that for every $100 spent at a local bookstore or music store, $45 stayed in the locas economy. For every $100 spent at a major chain, however, the local economic impact was only $13. A study in Maine the following year yielded similar results: Shopping locat kept three times more money in the local economy than shopping at chains. The studies cite several reasons for this. Proportionally, local merchants tend to employ more local labor and buy mor local goods than national competitirs, which operate from remote headquarters. Local business owners keep thier profits in state, and contribute more to local and state taxes. Local businesses are also more likely to promote local artists and authors. Those findings may seem intuitive enough - of course businesses keep more money in the local exonomy - but less obvious is just how much difference shopping local can make. A San Francisco Retail Diversity Study found that aeven the smallest shift in customer spending can have a tremendous impact on the local economy. If 10% of residential spending were redirected toward loacal business, the study found, it woudl bive San Francisco a $192 million economic boost and ge erate nearly 1,300 new jobs. The reverse, the sudy warns, is also true: If 10% of business were shifted to chains, the cost to San Francisco's economy would be almost $200 million. Knowing where your dollar goes is key to insuring the community health, selection, and economic resilience in our town. Sources we recemmend for learning more about the importance of shopping local:
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