How Shopping Local This Holiday Season Benefits the Entire Upper Valley Community

The holiday season is upon us and that means it’s time to start thinking about our gift list. As we check off each name, it’s important to remember that our spending choices have a direct impact on our community. When we shop locally, we are supporting businesses that are vital to the growth and prosperity of our town or city. Here are just a few of the ways the Upper Valley Business Alliance says shopping local this holiday season benefits the entire community.

Local businesses keep money and tax dollars in the community

When we spend our hard-earned money at locally owned businesses, those dollars stay in the community and help to support the local economy. In addition, Giv Local notes that local businesses generate more tax revenue for cities and towns than big box stores or online retailers. That extra tax revenue can be used for things like road repairs, parks, and public safety. So not only does shopping locally keep your money in the community, it also helps to fund important services that make your community a better place to live.

Local businesses support community growth

As any business owner will tell you, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make a business successful. When you shop at locally owned businesses, you are supporting your neighbors and friends who have put their heart and soul into growing a business from the ground up. In addition, small businesses are often more invested in the community than bigger corporations. They are more likely to donate to local charities and sponsor community events. By shopping locally, you are helping to ensure that there will be a thriving business community for years to come.

Local businesses can help each other with cross-promotion

One of the great things about shopping locally is that businesses can band together to promote each other, a key concept for business growth according to Workplace. For example, a group of local retailers could team up to offer holiday shoppers a discount if they spend a certain amount at participating stores. Or restaurants could team up with local museums or theaters to offer discounts to customers who present their receipts from those establishments. By working together, local businesses can reach a wider audience and promote each other in the process.

Local businesses can try joint marketing efforts via social media

Social media is a powerful tool that can be used to reach new customers and grow your business. One way for local businesses to take advantage of social media is by teaming up with other businesses in joint marketing efforts. For example, a group of restaurants could create a social media campaign featuring holiday specials at each participating eatery. Or a group of retailers could do something similar with gift ideas from each store. Joint marketing efforts like these are a great way for local businesses to reach new customers.

One of the best ways to reach groups and individuals in the community on social media is with PDFs, which are versatile enough that quality documents can be uploaded and shared on your platforms. Joint marketing with another like-minded business is also benefited by the ease of use when working with PDFs. Your PDF-based marketing materials can combine with those of your partner(s) when two or more PDFs are merged. Fortunately, this is made easy, as a PDF merger could be used to quickly complete this task.

Local businesses can support the community through sponsored events

Another way that local businesses can give back to the community is by sponsoring events like concerts, festivals, or charity walks/runs. Not only does this provide much-needed financial support for these types of events, it also helps to raise awareness about the importance of shopping locally. When people see that their favorite stores or restaurants are sponsoring an event they love, they’ll be more likely to support those businesses in return.

This holiday season let’s all make an effort to shop local whenever possible! Not only will we be getting great gifts for our loved ones, we’ll also be supporting our communities in so many ways. From keeping tax dollars local to supporting community growth and sponsoring events, there are countless reasons why shopping local is good for everyone involved! So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start supporting your favorite local businesses today!