Before clicking “add to cart” on your next Amazon purchase, consider this: according to Statista, in 2024, Amazon’s net revenue amounted to approximately $638 billion, Amazon customers ordered an estimated 22.46 million products per day and approximately 1.6 million packages were shipped by the company each day.
Behind these astonishing numbers are thousands of workers in poor conditions, due to the prioritization of efficiency and profit over fair labor conditions. In a study by University of Illinois Chicago in 2023, 41% of polled workers reported injury in the workplace, 69% reported having to take unpaid time off due to exhaustion and 41% of workers felt pressure to work faster.
Instead of contributing to these numbers and fueling this corrupt system, consider supporting local businesses. Choosing independent sellers not only strengthens local economies and creates jobs, it also promotes ethical business values that reduce environmental impacts.
While small businesses employ nearly half of the American workforce and represent 43.5% of America’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the accessibility and convenience of conglomerates like Amazon deter 80% of Americans from shopping at small businesses.
The fate of small businesses isn’t just the responsibility of the government and policymakers, it is all of ours. Every dollar spent locally is a step toward a stronger, more diverse economy.
Supporting small businesses cycles money back into local communities, stimulating local economies. According to Forbes, the tax revenue that small businesses make through sales taxes is used to support the local government and is reinvested in the community. Additionally, local businesses open more job opportunities, ensuring that money circulates more within the community. Larger retailers do not have the same communal impact.
Shopping at local businesses also strengthens communites economically and socially. They cultivate relationships among residents, reduce isolation and create a more interconnected and inclusive community.
Beyond benefiting local communities, supporting small businesses can reduce carbon emissions, according to Forbes. This is because these businesses typically use locally sourced goods and don’t deliver in large amounts, reducing transportation carbon emissions. Also, small businesses typically focus on conserving materials leading to fewer goods being wasted, further reducing carbon emissions.
With all these benefits, we must make an effort to shop at small businesses. Each contribution made to larger businesses perpetuates the disparity between large and small businesses.
Despite all the benefits of shopping at small businesses, many are still struggling to make up for lost ground as a result of the pandemic. In Montgomery County, 480 small businesses closed between March and June of 2020. Across America, one-third of small businesses were forced to close due to the pandemic. Though some small businesses have bounced back from the effects, many have not and cannot without our commitment to helping them.
From a shopper’s perspective, shopping at small businesses offers an opportunity to buy one-of-a-kind products that benefit the economy as well as the environment. Instead of matching everyone else with the same Nike sneakers or buying another Sweetgreen salad, opt for the unique tops created at a local boutique or fresh baked goods from the local bakery.
