Shopping at locally owned businesses puts three times the dollars into our economy. A landmark study found that of $100 spent at a local business, $45 stays in the community. But that same $100 spent at a chain store would put only $13 in our local economy! Do not give your money away, keep it in our community!Development of directly competitive chain merchants will reduce the overall vigor of the local economy and ultimately the purchasing choices you, the customer, have. New and different local merchants bring a complementary (instead of competing) line of goods to the market, leading to increased choices for the consumer (you) among merchants with similar but unique lines of goods.

If each household in Greenville County simply redirected just $100 of planned holiday spending from chain stores to locally owned merchants, the local economic impact would reach approximately $10 million.