Perks of Supporting Local: The Economic Impact of Shopping Local
There’s something special about spending money in your own community.
It might be dinner at a neighborhood restaurant, a gift from a local maker, or coffee from your favorite shop. These purchases may feel small, but collectively, they can make a big impact.
When you shop local, more of your money has the opportunity to stay local.
That’s a big part of why we created GiftBetter.
Why Shopping Local Matters
Local businesses are more than places to shop, eat, drink, and gather. They’re part of what makes a community feel like a community.
They employ your neighbors, work with other local businesses, support community organizations, and create the restaurants, shops, and experiences that give a city its personality.
According to American Express, 68 cents of every dollar spent at a small business stays in the local community.
That’s the power of shopping local.
The Local Multiplier Effect
When you spend $50 at a locally owned restaurant, that money doesn’t necessarily stop there. The restaurant may use that revenue to pay employees, work with local vendors, or hire other local businesses.
Those dollars can continue circulating throughout the community.
Research on the local multiplier effect has found that locally owned independent businesses recirculate significantly more money in their communities than national chains.
Where you spend can matter almost as much as what you spend.
Why Local Gift Cards Matter
Gift cards are an easy way to give someone the freedom to choose their own gift.
Most gift cards fall into one of two camps: a generic Visa card that feels impersonal and gets swallowed into someone’s wallet, or a single-vendor card that boxes the recipient into one choice. GiftBetter splits the difference, it’s the easiest way to give someone real freedom to pick their own gift, without losing the thoughtfulness of giving local. A digital gift card can make it even simpler with no shipping, no physical card to lose, and no guessing whether someone will love what you picked.
And when that gift card is for a local business, your gift can support the community at the same time.
A birthday gift becomes dinner at a local restaurant. A thank-you becomes a new favorite coffee shop. A holiday gift becomes a night out with friends.
The gift becomes an experience and an investment in the community.
The real magic happens when that gift card is for a local business — your gift supports your neighbors and the neighborhood at the same time. A birthday becomes dinner at Olive + Oak. A thank-you becomes a new favorite order at Kaldi’s. A holiday gift becomes a night out at Perennial with friends.
It’s not just a gift card. It’s an experience — and an investment in the community that makes your city feel like home
Keep Your Gift Card Spend Local
We know shopping local isn’t always easy. You may not know which businesses to choose, or you may want to give someone the flexibility to pick for themselves.
That’s where GiftBetter comes in.
GiftBetter brings local merchant gift cards together so you can gift locally, build community, and make it meaningful.
Instead of locking someone into one specific business, GiftBetter gives recipients the flexibility to discover and spend at local businesses they actually want to experience.
We’re starting in St. Louis because we believe in the businesses that make this city special, from neighborhood restaurants and coffee shops to boutiques, bars, salons, and local experiences.
When local businesses thrive, communities thrive.
So the next time you’re looking for a gift, consider giving someone the chance to discover, and support, a local business.
Gift local. Build community. Make it meaningful.