The Covid-19 pandemic hit the economy hard but small businesses were the ones who got sucker punched. Small businesses like cafes, bars, and bookshops cater to people who want to go out and meet and support people in their own community. But the pandemic made that impossible and small businesses suffered.
So here are five reasons to safely shop local instead of on Amazon today.
More Money Stays in Your Community
Small businesses put 24 percent of its profits back into its community, which is six times more than Amazon put into local economies. Not only will this help ensure that you’ll have a community to come back to once the pandemic is over, but it means more local jobs will be saved. And unlike Amazon’s warehouses, local employers probably won’t punish you for getting sick.
Celebrate Your Local Culture
We’ve all traveled through urban sprawls that look identical to each other, as well as former downtowns filled with “For Rent” signs in the windows. Both sights are depressing. But not only are local businesses filled with friend, family, and your next-door neighbors, but it’s also filled with local favorites. Maybe the decor is filled with photos of your community’s history, or you find clothing and food made by local creators. Either way, small businesses have the ability to embrace what makes your community unique. And that’s pretty cool.
Support Minority Business Owners
Unfortunately, minority communities still face discrimination and other forms of oppression. But supporting minority-owned businesses can help fixed a truly f’ed up system. The Small Business Administration has a directory to help you find minority-owned businesses in your state.
Shopping Small Helps Close the Wealth Gap
There is a lot of evidence that the wealth gap is getting worse. In 2016, the top 10 percent owned 77 percent of the nation’s wealth while the bottom 50 percent owned 1 percent or less. This means more poverty, more stress, and a lot more of bad things that I don’t really want to get into right now. (This article is meant to celebrate small business, not get everyone depressed.)
When you shop local, your money will go to your next-door neighbor and not the richest man in the world. Even though Amazon likes to brag about how many small businesses make money through them, it’s more effective to cut out the middleman and support them directly through the small business websites or to use a platform whose mission is to support small businesses, like Bookshop.
Amazon Will Survive Covid-19
At the end of the day, Amazon will survive the pandemic. But your local mom-and-pop shop probably won’t without your proactive support. Refusing to spend $100 on Amazon won’t hurt them at all. They won’t even notice the lost business. But spending $100 at a local business could mean the difference between keeping the lights on or permanently closing (and all the layoffs that go with it).
So, to help stymy the curse of 2020, please consider buying local. This year sucks enough without small businesses going under.