$HOP AT HOME MEMBERSHIP

$hop at Home was created to remind consumers that independent businesses in our region offer a fresh, local alternative to global chain stores and big box stores.

Studies show that for every $100 you spend locally, $48 stays in your community!  When you shop at a big box or chain store, only $13 returns to your community.  Here are some great reasons to $hop at Home:

·      * local business owners contribute more to local fundraising

·      * local businesses employ local residents

·      * local businesses support other local businesses

·      * the business community is reflective of its community’s culture (they will stock the products you need)

·      * tax money spent locally is used for local infra-structure and facilities

·      * shopping at home reduces your carbon footprint

In the Northern Lakes region you will soon notice retailers, restaurants and service providers with the $hop at Home decal displayed on their counter.  Participating businesses will honor a discount card that can be purchased for $5 through Northern Lakes Economic Development Corp.  Your discount card entitles you to a 2% savings on your purchase at these local businesses (some restrictions may apply).  If you don’t see the decal, be sure to ask – start saving money in your hometown!

If you think the purchasing power you have does not affect your home town, let’s look at an example for one product:  gasoline.  If you fill your tank (on average over vehicles per family) twice per week and for purposes of easy math, let us say it costs you $65 per tank.  That means you buy 104 tanks of gas per year for a total of $6760 per year.  If you are filling your tank outside your home community 25 percent of the time, you are costing your local filling station $1690 per year.  Let’s say that 500 people in a community of 5000 (surrounding rural included) decide to focus their gasoline purchases exclusively in their hometown for one year.  Those 500 people would be ensuring a combined total of $845,000 stays in their own community in one year by shifting the purchasing pattern for a single product! That makes a difference.

The benefits of shopping locally are not only realized through increased sales for the retailers – the benefits are shared by all of us when our pooled efforts result in a significant shift in the allocation of our purchasing power.  Simply put, the more people choose to Shop at Home, the stronger our business community will be and the more those businesses will give back to our community in all the areas listed at the beginning of this article.