Shopping and eating locally provides a benefit to our community — a local multiplier affect — that is lost when you shop and eat with the big guys — the national chains, big box stores, and online retailers.
Multiple studies conducted by two organizations, Civic Economics, (@CivicEconomics) and The Institute for Local Self Reliance (@localselfreliance), have shown that going local recirculates a larger percentage of each purchase in the local economy than when you make the same purchase with the big guys.
When you go local for retail, almost 50% of the purchase price is recirculated in the local economy, while less than 15% is recirculated when you make the same purchase with the big guys. For restaurants, going local recirculates more than 65% of your purchase in the local economy, while the same purchase at a national chain restaurant recirculates less than 35%.