buy local campaign

The Downtown Merchants roll out the buy local campaign to remind you of the financial impact of your holiday shopping. Consider shopping downtown Blacksburg to support your hometown. Downtown retail areas are often the community’s largest employment center, and a significant contributor to the local tax base. Downtown Blacksburg businesses tend to be locally owned and therefore give back to the community.

According to the Virginia Main Street program, for every dollar spent, downtown merchants return 60 cents to the area; chain stores return only 20 cents, and big box discounters return only 6 cents. That means that the Matrix Gallery purchases its office supplies at Mish Mish, hires an art student from Virginia Tech, and ships special orders through the locally-owned Main Street branch of the UPS Store.

Shopping in small, independent stores provides customer service and quality goods not found in chain stores and strip malls. Pop in to John’s Camera Corner to get a pictorial history of Blacksburg. Meet the maker of the necklace at Capone’s Fine Jewelry. Send out a taste of Virginia from the Gourmet Pantry. With retail options like these, it is possible to get excited about gift giving.

You can get a buy local bumper sticker of your own here >>