Holiday shopping formula adds up

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1. Askews Grocery
2. Armstrong Flower and Gift
3. Farmstrong Cider
4. Fieldnotes
5. Monashee Outdoors
6. PV BVLD Coffee
7. Wild Oak Cafe
8. Armstrong Pharmacy
9. Red Apple
10. Combination of special events: Melodia Concert, Asparagus Theatre and Caravan Farm Theatre.

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The Christmas market drew a number of out-of-town shoppers with the top locations, Vernon, Kamloops, Kelowna, Salmon Arm and Enderby. Data shows the shoppers spend money on coffee, lunches and boutique items.

Research from Buy BC shows that for every $100 spent with a local business $63 is re-circulated back into the economy compared to just $14 for chain stores. They re-circulate 4.6 times more revenue.

“Local owners supply jobs, support local events, sports teams and charities. They are more likely to buy local services and stock local products as well,” Chamber executive director Patti Noonan said.

The chamber said the formula $29,050 x 4.6 = $133,630 shows what was circulated back into the economy from a $1,750 spend on the promotion.

“Spending with a local business has ripple effects that contribute to the growth and health of communities in our province. We need to support the events that drive both locals and visitors to shop in our community,” Noonan added.

The organization plans to start gathering data on other community events possibly with the use of QR codes to quantify the impact on the local economy.