This is the time of year when people shop and this is also the time of year when community-oriented newspapers, like your Tate Record, urge you to shop at home.
We all know the reason for shopping at home: When you spend money locally it strengthens the local economy.
But do you really know the numbers?
For every $100 spent in locally-owned, independent businesses, $68 returns to the community through, taxes, payroll and other expenditures. Spend that same $100 in an out-of-town mall or online and it gains us nothing.
We also want to urge local businesses to shop locally for services, office supplies and materials. That same 68-percent return on every dollar spent applies to you, too.
And we urge local businesses to make it desirable for Tate County residents to shop in Tate County stores. Keep your prices low this season and watch your store fill up. Smile and greet shoppers when they enter your door.
Please remember the customer is not always right, but the customer is always the customer.
This newspaper doesn’t claim to have all the answers but we do offer this solution for local economic woes.
If every shopper in Tate County would spend $100 extra dollars in local businesses we would see our local economy turn around this Christmas.
Now can everything you need and want be purchased in this town? Of course not. But we do encourage you to give local businesses a first shot at your Christmas dollars.
Hometown businesses truly are the bread-and-butter of the local economy. They want your business – They need your business!
We want to encourage Tate County to shop local first. Stop in a local store. Say hello. Pick up something that brings a smile and buy it.
Your purchases are what makes those businesses and Tate County grow.
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