Editor:

The holiday shopping season is upon us. Where should you shop to spend your dollars in this economic downturn? As time ticks quickly toward the holidays, on behalf of the local businesses, I would like to ask you to shop locally.

Why is shopping locally so important? There are four great reasons: 1. Two percent of sales tax goes directly to the local public schools with 100 percent of those funds remaining in Baldwin County. 2. By doing business locally, the money is reinvested into preserving our unique quality of life. 3. Revenue generated locally supports services such as law enforcement and recreational facilities. 4. Local businesses employ individuals who, through their pay, support our community.

We are all shopping more wisely this year and we want our dollars to count. Have them count by supporting the communities we love. The stores tucked away in the corners of the fabric of the Eastern Shore and Baldwin County are full of wonderful and beautiful items and well worth the effort. If you need any ideas of where to start, just contact your local chamber (www.eschamber.com) and we will be more than happy to help you find the stores you need before you begin your shopping excursions. Many local businesses are online, as well!

Think about this. According to Nielsen online, the Global Index Chart for the month of October 2009, the average Internet surfer spends 39 hours on line a month, close to an hour each session. In a 2008 ABCNEWS.com poll, they found out that Online Shoppers planned to spend $646 online average. Men spend nearly four times as much on the Internet as women. 39 percent of households earning $50,000 or more plan to shop online — you get the idea. There are about 80,000 people on the Eastern Shore. If 39 percent of the population committed to bringing home $200 of their Internet shopping into our local businesses, that would mean an increase of $6,240,000 back into the stores. If 39 percent of the people in Baldwin County would bring back $200 of Internet shopping, it would bring $14,040,000. What an immediate economic impact that would have! For every dollar spent locally, it will return three to five times that amount within the community through city taxes, employees’ wages, and purchase of materials and supplies at other local businesses.

These are the same businesses, and restaurants that donate gift certificates and items for all our churches, schools and nonprofit fund raisers. They are our friends and neighbors. Let’s work on giving them a great holiday gift. Thank you for all the ways you already support our community. Let’s all make an effort to take the time to bring back home a larger portion of our holiday shopping. And may we all have a healthy and prosperous new year.

President/CEO

Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce