The Impact of Supporting Local Businesses
- Esme Carty
- Dec 6, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 11, 2025
Written by Esme Carty
In a bustling world like our own it can become easy to succumb to big box businesses out of convenience, but shopping locally has a larger impact than some may know. With the rise of businesses such as Amazon, it feels almost impossible to go a day without hearing about the new dupe clothing item you can get at a fraction of the cost. Frankly, it is ubiquitous. However, if you really look inward toward your community, there are far more interesting things to find and connections to be made. If that doesn’t appeal to you, however, then think about the direct benefits local businesses provide for towns and cities: stable employment, increased benefits for local institutions, and ecological impacts.
With the unemployment rate sitting at 4.2% in the United States as of July 2025, supporting local businesses can actually increase employment and keep those jobs stable. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Between the first quarter of 2021 and the second quarter of 2024, small businesses (firms with 249 or fewer employees) made up 52.8 percent of the total net job creation in the United States.” More job creation in the community directly means more money to circulate through the local economy, which leads to the support of local institutions such as schools, libraries, and non-profits.
Nation-wide businesses may be making the big bucks–and we’re talking billions–but local businesses were actually found to contribute more to local charities and fundraisers than their national counterparts do. In a case study observed by the Institute for Local Self Reliance, they measured the economic impact of locally owned businesses vs. national chains: it was found that for every $1,000,000 in sales, a local business alone contributed $4,000 to Wal-Mart’s $1,000 contribution. It is crucial that these local businesses continue to be maintained, especially in the current political climate where the budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 calls for a 15% funding cut to the Department of Education. With our independent businesses entering in mutually-beneficial partnerships with their local schools, these companies are able to alleviate the effects of deep budget cuts that impact student’s futures. Through financial giving, volunteering, and advocating for schools, business owners have the ability to strengthen their communities. When our schools are intrinsically stronger, these communities attract more qualified workers and create a larger consumer base for local businesses. Not to mention, when schools need infrastructure upgrades and repairs, the job creation can fuel fields of construction, IT, and other related industries. When we keep these jobs within a certain radius, we minimize our ecological footprint as people.
Reducing the amount of materials and products that are bought from national retail chains helps impact our environment for the better. Most products from big box chains are flown in on cargo planes or driven by semi trucks across the nation–which is, by no doubt, increasing the amount of fuel emissions into the Earth and directly affecting air pollution. Most nationwide retailers are usually located in city centers, where there is a larger population of people, meaning those who live in the suburbs or on the outskirts have to make an entire commute to do some shopping. Equally, those commutes contribute to more air pollution as well as traffic congestion. So why not minimize our driving time and explore what is around us?
By no means is local businesses the answer to all of our problems, nor does it mean we must completely abandon any business that operates on a national scale. However, it does mean that if there is a way we can make an impact in our community, and the nation at-large, then why not take those small steps to influential change for the better? Let us become more self-sufficient and build up the character and uniqueness of our communities by supporting the businesses around us. Now, here’s a list of local businesses you can support in Phoenix!
Hair:
Clothing:
Knick Knacks:
Furniture:
Services:
Coffee + Tea:
Food:
Sweet Treats:
Magazine:
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