The importance of supporting local shop

Small businesses are a very important part of the economic development of an area. It is part of our responsibility to contribute to their survival, as this will help to generate wealth and employment in your neighborhood,

Next, we will tell you why it is so important to support local shop.

Situation of local shop in the pandemic

During the confinement, many neighborhood stores had to lower their shutters. However, after the confinement, 10% of the stores that lowered their shutters during that period have not reopened.

Small businesses are the most vulnerable productive fabric in any crisis. Just look at the data after the pandemic.

According to data from the retail trade index, the large chains recovered their pre-COVID-19 sales levels. In contrast, the situation of small chains continues with a level of activity 13% below the 2019 average.

What are the reasons for these differences?

As small businesses experience a greater drop in sales, they are in greater need of liquidity, so they tend to fall into insolvency. In addition, they have greater difficulty in accessing lines of credit and financing.

The importance of local shop

74% of the companies in Spain have less than six workers, so we can say that most companies in Spain are small. Likewise, it is the stores, bars and small neighborhood businesses that hire the most workers.

It is surprising that, although they generate the most employment, they are the ones that suffer the most from the crisis as they are unable to compete on equal terms with the large supermarkets.

Likewise, small shops are a fundamental part of neighborhood life for several reasons:

If you shop in the stores of your neighborhood you will be contributing to the economic development of your area, since the money you invest will continue to circulate in the neighborhood, enriching it.
A neighborhood full of stores becomes a remarkable place that attracts population and becomes a reference area.
If local shops disappear from a neighborhood, the area tends to become poorer.

Advantages of buying at the local shops

Shopping at neighborhood stores not only brings benefits to the local economy of the area, but also has benefits for the shopper:

Consumption of local products

It is easier to know the origin of the products you buy. Local merchants source products from the area, so you will also be helping to improve the local economy.

Physical proximity

You can save time and money on travel, as they are proximity stores where you can go on foot without having to use public transport or a car, which is also more polluting.

Personalized attention

The people who work in a small neighborhood store are specialists in the products they sell, so they will have no problem advising you on how to make your purchase satisfactory.

Local shops vs. supermarkets

As we have said before, small stores cannot compete on equal terms with large supermarkets.

It is often said that everything is more expensive in small stores or that you can find more products in large supermarkets. But if you stop to think about it, the products sold in neighborhood stores are a little more expensive because they are of higher quality, plus the personalized treatment of the seller adds an important added value.

We know that large supermarkets have a fairly advantageous situation compared to neighborhood stores. However, we can find some differences that will make you rethink where you end up buying:

Do you know where the money goes?
We know that the money spent in local shop circulates in the neighborhood, thus improving its local economy. On the other hand, much of the money you spend in the big stores leaves the region immediately.

Where does the product you buy come from?
It is estimated that the products sold in large supermarkets travel an average of 3,000 kilometers to reach the supermarket shelves. However, small stores carry local produce, grown and manufactured locally.
Kilometer-long products have a negative environmental impact that can be reduced by providing incentives to buy local.

Can you order products?
If you can’t find the product you need in your neighborhood, you can ask the vendor for it. The owner of the local store is much more likely to respond to your requests than the manager of a large supermarket.

Also, after knowing these differences and taking into account that neighborhood stores generate employment, boost economic growth and improve the image of your area, where do you prefer to shop?

How does Comunitaria help to promote local shop

Considering that local commerce is a valuable economic resource in the life of a neighborhood and that they are also the ones that have more complications to survive in the long term, we must do our bit to help them, especially the stores located in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Why help businesses in the poorest neighborhoods?

Slums do not have any valuable economic resources to boost their economy, except for their surrounding stores. For a neighborhood to become richer we have to improve its economy and increase the circulation of money in the area.

Comunitaria has created a social currency that benefits local commerce in the poorest areas and also helps the most vulnerable people to be able to buy in the stores in their area. This is an advantage for both groups.

Do you want to know how Comunitaria works?

How is the Comunitaria social currency used?

Our social currency is a digital currency that circulates in the neighborhood through the donations that Caritas makes to people in extreme poverty.

These donations are used to make pre-purchases of fresh produce in the neighborhood stores and then digital checks are distributed and redeemable in those stores.

Thus, the money from the donations enters and circulates in the neighborhood, benefiting the local economy.