Local shopping helps build a city, experts say

Buying local can be cost effective and create jobs, said local-shopping expert Kimber Lanning during Maricopa’s sixth annual economic outlook event Thursday.

Lanning is the founder of Local First AZ, a nonprofit organization working to bolster the state’s economy by supporting small businesses. 

“Ultimately we’re growing civic pride and we’re changing the way people think about how they spend their money,” Lanning said.

Lanning’s keynote speech focused on debunking myths about buying-local initiatives and how national chain stores impact the economy.

She said her organization was not opposed to big businesses, but sought a better balance to benefit an entire community.

“You can be standing in a Walmart and still buy Hickman’s eggs and that’ll make an impact,” Lanning said.

She pointed out that large stores are not necessarily the job creators they claim to be, citing a statistic that for every two jobs created, three local jobs are lost.

At that rate, Lanning said, “We’ll go broke.”

As far as being able to save money at a chain store, Lanning said bigger stores are not always the cheaper option.

“We’ve forgotten how to shop around,” she said.

And even when large stores are cheaper, Lanning said shopping only at such stores perpetuates a pattern of “buying ourselves broke” because of the negative impact it has on the local economy.

Maricopa Economic Development Director Micah Miranda also emphasized the need for local job growth. Maricopa “had some work to do" in that area he said.

He pointed out the city has a shop-local initiative. 

Job growth, Miranda said, “is going to take place with small businesses.”

One reason local jobs are so important, he said, is they help to generate tax revenue for the community.