Small Business Saturday

– Only about 33.6% of the revenue from national chains is reinvested into the community, which is very low compared to the 64.8% return from local businesses.

– A study in Austin, Texas found that $100 spent at a local bookstore produced $45 worth of local economic activity, and $100 at a chain bookstore brought back only $13.

– National chains often bring loss of employment. The opening of a Wal-Mart reduces retail employment by an average of 150 jobs in the county of its location.

– Local businesses are usually established in city centers, instead of on the margins of communities like large chains, so they contribute less to pollution, congestion, habitat loss and urban sprawl.

–  If the people of an average American city were to shift 10% of their spending from chains to local businesses, it would bring an additional $235 million per year to the community’s economy.