How Buying Locally Helps our Economy!

This Christmas- Give MEMPHIS a present!

How buying locally helps our economy in a HUGE way!

With the holidays fast approaching, I wanted to write a bit about supporting your local community. It seems like a no-brainer but I think that it is a good time to reiterate what you probably already know. You HAVE to keep the money in town- If you do we will thrive, if you don’t-we will become a ghost town. Pretty simple.

Some researchers are looking into the way money flows, and they are finding that it makes a HUGE difference WHERE the stuff you buy comes from. If you buy things at the big-box stores ( Walmart, Target, Kmart, Fred’s, Dollar General -for example) You are NOT contributing to the local economy. You are HURTING it.

An independent think tank, The Economics Foundation, compared what happens when people buy locally instead of from a national retailer. They found that the money that used to buy items from local sources was twice as efficient in terms of keeping the communities economy alive. 

Many local economies are suffering, NOT because too little cash comes in, but rather what happens to that money afterwards. “ Money is like blood. It needs to keep moving around to keep the economy going”  he says, noting that when money is spent at non-local sources such as national retailers, supermarkets and on line “it flows OUT, like a wound”.

Buying locally increases the speed at which the money circulates through the community, and therefore the money passes through more hands. “If you are buying local and not in a chain or branch store, chances are that the store is not making a huge profit”, says David Morris, Vice President of the institute for self reliance, a non-profit based in Minneapolis and Washington, D.C.” That means more money goes into input costs- supplies and upkeep, printing, advertising, paying employees- which puts that money right back in the community.”

 Memphis has got some really good local places to shop (and dine!)- I bought a beautiful handmade bowl from Lisa Hudson, a local artist. I am going to give it to my parents (they have everything they need, and I bet yours do too! ). The South Main street area has some great shops- Delphinium carries lots of local items and the Memphis College of Arts has a GREAT gift shop. The Brooks Museum store has locally made jewelry as does Diane's in the Evergreen district. Miss Cordelia’s Grocery in Harbor Town makes a point of carrying locally made products and produce and The Trolley Stop on Madison has a little something for everyone.

So get out there and save the economy and add to the overall health of the city- Happy Holidays, Memphis!