[ad_1]
Encountering an empty storefront can be disheartening. When it becomes three, four or five empty storefronts, a sense of sadness and loss can set in. It’s natural to believe that there’s little we can do to change the fate of our local small business districts — whether it’s Washington Square, Michigan Avenue or any other downtown across Michigan.
However, that belief is mistaken.
Allow me to explain why.
By simply diverting just one out of every 10 of your routine non-Michigan-based online purchases towards local businesses, you can spur the creation of 17,279 jobs and inject a staggering $1.3 billion into Michigan’s economy. These are big numbers that are a result of just a small change by each of us. Will all of these jobs and dollars land in Lansing or Ingham County? No. But, if even some of them do, it’s better for our community.
In the city of Lansing, we are lucky to have multiple shopping districts, including my favorites of Downtown, REO Town and Old Town. Each features unique opportunities to keep your dollars in our community. The taxes from your purchases and the salaries for the employees stay in Lansing, and the business owners are making investments to beautify their neighborhoods and have a stake in what happens to our city.
Switching one out of every 10 purchases to a local business is enough to put $700 million in additional wages into the pockets of retail employees — dollars that can fuel education or a new home.
Lansing is lucky to have so many small businesses. Some started their business from scratch a few months ago, with a dream and a rent check in their pocket; others have been around for 100 years or more.
Our shopping habits underwent a transformation during the COVID pandemic. Many of us discovered or deepened our affection for online shopping, which took a toll on our local businesses. All of us are a little guilty of jumping online and ordering a product that we could easily pick up from a local shop.
To be clear: no one is asking you to give up all of your online shopping addiction. But by remembering the impact of switching just one in 10 purchases to a local business, we can make a change in the way we think about shopping. And here’s the thing, many small Michigan businesses have websites that allow you to make purchases from the comfort of your couch.
The weekend of Oct. 6-8 marks Buy Nearby Weekend in Michigan, an annual tradition that celebrates local retail, and is a great opportunity to show local small businesses that you want to see their dreams be realized.
Your local bakery, boutique and bookstore have an ask for you: Stop by.
So, let’s do it. Let’s keep our Money in Michigan. Let’s Buy Nearby.
Andrea Bitely is a Lansing resident and vice president of marketing and communications at Michigan Retailers Association.
[ad_2]
Source link