Survey Reaffirms “Buy Local” on Minds of More Shoppers

Posted Thursday, Jan 26, 2012

A national survey conducted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in partnership with several business organizations, including the American Booksellers Association, has found that independent businesses experienced strong sales growth over the holidays and appear to be benefitting from increased public interest in supporting locally owned retail stores, banks, restaurants, and other enterprises.

The survey gathered data from 1,768 independent businesses across 49 states over an eight-day period in January.

Among the key findings:

  • Independent businesses in communities with an active “buy local” campaign operated by a local business organization reported annual revenue growth of 7.2 percent in 2011, compared to 2.6 percent for those in areas without such an initiative. (“Buy local” campaigns run by Independent Business Alliances and Local First groups are now underway in about 150 cities.)
     
  • Independent retailers, which comprised about half the survey respondents, reported stronger holiday sales than the industry average. While overall holiday sales were up 4.1 percent in 2011, the independent retailers surveyed said their holiday sales increased 6.7 percent on average.
     
  • More than three-quarters of the businesses surveyed said that public awareness of the benefits of supporting locally owned businesses had increased in the last year.
     
  • Looking specifically at retail respondents, the survey found that those in areas with an active “buy local” campaign reported holiday sales growth of 8.5 percent in 2011, compared to 5.2 percent for those retailers in areas without such an initiative.

Similar surveys over the last four years also found that independent businesses in cities with active “buy local” initiatives reported larger sales gains than those in communities without such initiatives.

“Throughout the holiday season, we were hearing anecdotally from independent business owners that they were especially busy and many customers were seeking out locally owned stores,” said Stacy Mitchell, senior researcher at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. “The results of this survey suggest that this was indeed a widespread trend, particularly in cities with ‘buy local’ initiatives.”

ABA CEO Oren Teicher noted that “what was clearly a growing Shop Local trend is now a business reality. Shoppers understand how important a strong foundation of healthy local businesses is to their communities — and they are voting in favor of independent retailers with their spending.”

“For the fifth year in a row, we’re seeing locally owned businesses earning more revenue and developing a more loyal following in communities with active Local First campaigns,” said Michelle Long, executive director of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies.

“Americans increasingly recognize why local ownership matters and intentionally support local, independent businesses, creating more jobs, income, and unique communities in the process,” said Jennifer Rockne, co-director of the American Independent Business Alliance. “We know independent businesses are key to leading the way out of recession. The survey results confirm the growing number of communities refocusing energy on local entrepreneurs, rather than transient corporations, are receiving a great payback from their investment.”

Download the survey results here.

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