Vermonters concerned about who controls the purse strings in the U.S. should stop and think before clicking on Amazon to make their next purchase. That’s the message from a new buy-local campaign launched this week by Phoenix Books and Burlington online shopping platform Myti, which is encouraging shoppers to keep their money in Vermont rather than sending it out of state.
“Every minute, Vermonters send more than $1,100 to Amazon. That’s over half a billion dollars each year leaving our communities,” said Joanna Grossman, Phoenix Books’ community relations manager in a press statement this week announcing the “Main Street Over Wall Street” campaign.
With messages such as “Shop your values, Vermont” and “Your money has the power. Don’t hand it to Bezos,” referring to Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos, Myti and Phoenix Books are encouraging Vermont shoppers to vote with their wallets this holiday season.
Central to the campaign is Small Business Saturday, a nationwide effort held each year between Black Friday and Cyber Monday that encourages consumers to shop, dine and spend their money at the more than 36 million small and independently owned businesses in the U.S. Small Business Saturday was founded in 2010 to help small businesses recover from the Great Recession. In Vermont, 62 percent of all workers are employed by a small business.
“Main Street Over Wall Street” takes on added urgency this year as Amazon seeks to build its first-ever distribution center in Vermont in the Saxon Hill Industrial Park in Essex. In July, that plan hit a roadblock when the town’s Development Review Board rejected the proposal due to environmental concerns and the economic impacts of the 107,000 square-foot warehouse on the local economy. Amazon has since appealed that ruling.
The “Main Street Over Wall Street” campaign is also backed by ACRES — the Alliance of Concerned Residents Envisioning Solutions — a new nonprofit formed to oppose the Amazon distribution center, as well as Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.
According to a study by the American Independent Business Alliance, for every $100 spent at a local business about $68 stays in the local economy, compared to just $43 when spent at a nonlocal business. This so-called multiplier effect means that every dollar spent at an independent and locally owned business will recirculate in the local economy two to four times more than those spent at national chain stores or online shopping giants.
