The Advantages of Shopping Locally

Shopping local has great benefits to a community.  We all know this is true but this year the citizens of Austin County are reaping the benefits of shopping local.  “This year we were able to not have to raise the tax rate in Austin County due to local sales tax increases,” stated Judge Carolyn Bilksi.

What Bilski is referring to is the revenue that was generated from sales tax on goods and services in the county.  That is one reason it is so important to patronize local businesses.  It also helps with your personal budgets bottom line.  Less gas is used when you shop local.

According to eLocal.com if the average American City were to shift 10% of their spending from chains to local businesses, it would bring an additional $235 million per year to the community’s economy.

Local shops employ local residents, which means there will be more job opportunities within your community. The increase in jobs, one of the benefits of shopping locally, also has a domino effect. Local stores will need to hire other local residents to help with accounting, create store signs, etc.

Product diversity, another benefit of shopping locally, may not seem important at first, but it is a win-win situation for local customers. Big box stores have national sales plans, and generally do not stock their stores with products that are sought after within a specific region. Local shops will need to stock their stores with products that their local customers will want, so if you have many local shops within your community, there will be a much broader range of product choices.

Competition of local shops is also one of the most important benefits of shopping locally. Big box stores often drive mom and pop shops out of business, which means there is no competition. With no competition, the big box stores can charge higher prices. By having a multitude of local stores within your community, all of the stores will need to keep their prices competitive in order to gain your business.

The final benefit of shopping locally is community well being. By shopping at local shops, you will most likely run into your friends and family more often, which helps unite the community together as a whole. Local business owners are also more likely to donate more to local causes than big box stores are.

That is what Austin County News Online is all about.  Promoting local businesses.  We offer many affordable avenues for local business owners to reach their customers. Whether a business would like to advertise in our Business Directory or place a weekly add on the site we are there for you.  We can help you create a web presence to accommodate the growing population of Austin County.

We also offer our readers a new avenue to get news.  The goal at Austin County News Online is to reach the people of Austin County and offer them a strong sense of community through articles as well as video news.