Buy Local Campaigns

Holiday Sales Increase at Independent Businesses, National Survey Finds

January 14, 2010

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (Jan. 14, 2010) - More holiday shoppers deliberately sought out locally owned businesses this year, according to a national survey of more than 1,800 independent businesses.

The survey found that holiday sales for independent retailers were up an average of 2.2%. That contrasts with the Commerce Department figures released today, which show that overall retail sales were down 0.3% in December and up 1.8% in November.

The survey also found that independent retailers in cities with active "Buy Local" or "Think Local First" campaigns reported stronger holiday sales than those in cities without such campaigns. More

Independent Retailers Would Like to Source More Goods Locally, Survey Finds

December 1, 2009

A survey of over 100 independent retailers in New England has found that almost all would like to source more of their inventory from local and regional producers, but there are barriers to doing so, including, most notably, a lack of an easy and efficient way for retailers to identify New England companies manufacturing the kinds of goods they carry. More

Local Businesses Key to Rebuilding New Orleans' Economy, Study Finds

September 18, 2009

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, many of New Orleans' locally owned businesses reopened within days of the floodwaters subsiding and played a pivotal role in drawing people back. National chains, meanwhile, kept their distance.

But, despite their resilience and loyalty, locally owned businesses have been largely ignored in the city's redevelopment plans. Instead, New Orleans has been lavishing massive public subsidies on big-box development.

Now a new study finds that the city's independent businesses are not only more resilient, but generate twice the economic impact of big-box retailers like Target, while consuming a fraction of the land. The Urban Conservancy, which commissioned the study and runs an initiative called Stay Local, hopes the new data will prompt the city to change its policies.
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The Corporate Co-Opt of Local

By Stacy Mitchell on July 9, 2009

HSBC, one of the biggest banks on the planet, has taken to calling itself "the world's local bank." Starbucks is un-branding at least three of its Seattle outlets, the first of which just reopened as "15th Avenue Coffee and Tea." Winn-Dixie, a 500-outlet supermarket chain, recently launched a new ad campaign under the tagline, "Local flavor since 1956." The International Council of Shopping Centers, a global consortium of mall owners and developers, is pouring millions of dollars into television ads urging people to "Shop Local" — at their nearest mall. Even Wal-Mart is getting in on the act, hanging bright green banners over its produce aisles that simply say, "Local." More

Santa Rosa Rejects Big Box and Goes Local

September 16, 2009

In a public hearing room crowded with more than 100 people, including dozens of local business owners standing alongside environmentalists, affordable housing advocates, and labor leaders, the city council of Santa Rosa, California, soundly defeated a proposed Lowe's store on a 5-2 vote.

For a city facing a sizable budget shortfall, it was a remarkable decision. The conventional wisdom, especially in California's sales tax-dependent and financially strapped cities, is that big-box retailers are cash-cows and those cities that do not welcome them with open arms will be left behind in the regional competition for revenue.

But the Santa Rosa council rejected that argument and instead endorsed the position of the GoLocal Cooperative, a county-wide coalition of local businesses and residents working localize the region's economy. More

Does the NFIB Really Represent the Interests of Independent Businesses?

September 3, 2009

Today, in the New York Times small business blog, Robb Mandelbaum examines the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), a group that, as we point out in his post, claims to represent independent businesses, but often lobbies for policies that benefit big business at the expense of small.

Mandelbaum reports that the NFIB's membership has plummeted and takes a look at how the group has lobbied for tax loopholes that boost the profits of big chains like Wal-Mart by billions of dollars, while forcing independent businesses to pay more. More

"Buy Local” Helps Main Street Merchants and Other Independents Survive Recession

By Stacy Mitchell on August 1, 2009

A growing body of evidence suggests that public enthusiasm for all things local and independent is on the rise, providing locally owned businesses with a measure of insulation from the worst effects of the recession, even as some of their biggest competitors teeter and collapse.

In January 2009, a national survey conducted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, in partnership with several organizations, found that, in an extremely challenging economic climate, independent retailers as a group are outperforming many chains. Anecdotal reports from around the country provide further evidence that these grassroots efforts to build support for local businesses are indeed changing people's shopping habits. More

"Buy Local” Helps Main Street Merchants and Other Independents Survive Recession [pdf]

Are Buy Local Campaigns Baseless Sloganeering by Smug Elites? Our Response.

By Stacy Mitchell on April 27, 2009

Our response to an op-ed that attempts to discredit Buy Local campaigns. More

Independent Retailers Outperform Chains Over Holidays, National Survey Finds

January 15, 2009

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (Jan. 15, 2009) - In an extremely challenging economic climate, independent retailers are outperforming many chains, a national survey has found.

The survey of 1,142 independent retailers in a wide range categories (books, toys, clothing, etc.) and across all 50 states found that holiday sales at independent stores declined an average of 5.0% from the same time period in 2007. That compares favorably to most competing chains, including Barnes & Noble (- 7.7%), Best Buy (-6.5%), Borders (-14.0%), JC Penney (-8.1%), Macy's (-7.5%), The Gap (-14.0%), and Williams-Sonoma (-24.2%). More

Communities Celebrate Independents Week

July 21, 2008

During the first week of July, over 40 local business alliances across the country celebrated Independents Week, an annual event that draws public attention to the importance of supporting locally owned, independent businesses.

The first Independents Week took place in Tampa, Florida, in 2002. It was conceived by Carla Jimenez, co-owner of Inkwood Books and co-founder of the Tampa Independent Business Alliance. The event was so successful, earning extensive local media coverage, that Jimenez continued to organize it each year and, in 2005, the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) took the idea national. More