5 Ways to Help Your Community Go Local

For four consecutive years, Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) has undertaken a unique research project, surveying thousands of independent businesses across the United States about their holiday season sales figures....

February 3, 2011 | Source: Yes Magazine | by Jeff Milchen

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For four consecutive years, Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) has undertaken a unique research project, surveying thousands of independent businesses across the United States about their holiday season sales figures. The results of ILSR’s latest survey (measuring sales for last Thanksgiving through Christmas) offered encouraging news for entrepreneurs battered by the recession and for organizations working to sustain vital communities.

Independent businesses in communities with an active Buy Independent / Buy Local (BIBL) campaign reported the strongest figures since the surveys began-a 5.6 percent increase over the previous holiday season. This increase was more than two and a half times the gain (2.1 percent) reported by independent businesses located in areas lacking such a campaign. The most influential community campaigns inspire residents to recognize their power and responsibility to guide the community’s future.

Among independent retailers, which comprised just under half of nearly 2,800 surveys tabulated, the contrast was even more dramatic. Those in communities with BIBL campaigns experienced a 5.2 percent increase in holiday sales, while retailers elsewhere reported an average gain of just 0.8 percent.

While the survey proves correlation, not causation, the consistently positive numbers each year for businesses served by these local alliances is powerful evidence that sustained and sophisticated campaigns can shift local culture.