Best to buy local this Christmas

COLUMN: The holiday season is upon us. Every one of us has the option of giving the gift the entire community can celebrate. The gift of prosperity.

Every holiday dollar spent at a locally owned and operated business not only supports a local job, it actually supports several local jobs by the time that dollar circulates through the community two or three times.

By contrast, that same dollar spent on-line does not support any local jobs. Straight out of the region and up the corporate food chain. Never to be seen again.

Buying local isn’t only about dollars, it’s also about impact.

The vast majority of our region’s businesses are small businesses.

To these businesses, even incremental increases in consumer spending can have a big impact on their ability to support jobs, and our community. A quick thought experiment. If every Marlburian simply shifted an additional $10 in spending each month towards independent, locally owned businesses, the result is an additional $5.5 million flowing into our local economy.

That’s millions of extra dollars for our region’s economy, investing in capital, more jobs, sponsoring local initiatives.

Now consider the impact if Marlburian buyers aimed 10 per cent of their holiday spend this year on local businesses?

The impact would be massive. You can make a real difference this Christmas. Add your community to your shopping list and buy local.

Economists are exploring the benefits of ‘‘velocity’’ in the money supply.

A good way to think about it is to compare the flow of money in an economy to the flow of blood through the body.

If our blood doesn’t flow quickly and freely, the body becomes sluggish and ultimately fails.

Speeding up the flow of money in a local economy has the same effect as speeding up the flow of blood in your body. Every sector benefits.

The faster money circulates; the more hands it touches and the more jobs it creates.

According to economists, the velocity of money in our economy used to be a constant, but it has slowed dramatically in recent decades.

Why is this relevant? It shows that spending your money locally not only doubles or triples the local impact of your spending, it also increases the velocity; the liveliness of our local economy.

The Marlborough Chamber supports the businesses that support you. For more than 130 years, it has provided support for our region’s entrepreneurs and business owners.

We have learned the value of a vibrant local economy. We have seen the positive impacts of local spending.

It grows a community and generates a shared sense of wellbeing that is hard to quantify, but impossible to ignore.

I’m not suggesting readers spend every dollar locally. Instead, I am encouraging taking an informed, thoughtful approach to your spending over the holidays.

In simple terms, spend with prosperity in mind, not just the lowest price. You, your neighbours, and your community will benefit.

Hans Neilson is the general manager of the Marlborough Chamber of Commerce.

123RF This Christmas, think about what you spend your money on and be mindful of where that money will eventually end up.