JXN Local First, 152 W. Michigan Avenue, Jackson, MI - info@jxnlocalfirst.com Resources SAVING THE BRICK & MORTARS OUR NATION IS BUILT ON What three independently owned business would you miss if they disappeared?  Stop in. Say hello. Pick up something that brings a smile. Your purchases are what keeps those businesses around. If half the employed population spent $50 each month in locally owned independent businesses, it would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue. Imagine the positive impact if 3/4 the employed population did that. For evey $100 spent in locally owned independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, an other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays here. Spend it online and nothing somes home. the number of people it takes to start the trend...you. The 3/50 Project PROSPECTS FOR ENHANCED ECONOMIC IMPACTS The chart on this page shows the tremendous potential economic impact to be enjoyed in Kent County from one modest change in consumer behavior: a 10% shift in market share from chains to locals across the retail landscape. According to Claritas, Kent County reached approximately $8.4 billion in retail sales in 2007. This analysis assumes that an extra $840 million was shifted from national chains to locally owned businesses. Since we did not survey every retail sector in Kent County to have the exact shares of revenue kept locally we applied ratios for other areas in which we have done similar studies and normalized the results for the Grand Rapids region. For the categories that we did have actual local results, grocery stores and pharmacies, local results were used. The results are rather significant. An additional 1600 jobs could be created in Kent County with wages of $53 million being added to local payrolls if such a swing in purchasing behavior could be achieved. The 1600 additional jobs created would have been enough to increase employment by one-half of one percent in 2007. Output for the county could be increased by $137 million as well and this benefit would be spread among many industries, not only the retail sector. The magnitude of these impacts is such that, under ordinary circumstances, economic development organizations and public agencies would rally to the cause, actively recruiting and incentivizing any firm promising such an impact. As it happens, consumers can themselves create these impacts with only a modest shift in their habits and behavior. Excerpt from Grand Rapids Local First Study  Buy American... what does this mean? It starts with buy local...where we deal with local people who care about our community and hire our neighbors; more dollars stay in our community to support our way of life. Local merchants have a responsibility to provide first-class personalized service and competitive prices, services and products. Click image to enlarge JXN Local First ©2009; All Rights Reserved Member Login Support