Local Lakeland Florida shopping is not only fun, but good for Lakeland.

There are many well-documented advantages to shopping local, independently owned businesses. We recognize it’s not necessarily possible to purchase everything you need locally, but we merely ask you to Think Local FIRST!

Here are some great of the great reasons we encourage you to support local Lakeland Florida shopping.

Support yourself: Several studies have demonstrated that when you purchase from an independent, locally owned company, as opposed to a nationally owned company, significantly more of your money is used to purchases from other local companies, service providers and farms, thus continuing to strengthen the economic base of the community. Non-profit organizations receive an average 250% more support from smaller business owners than they do from corporate businesses.


Keep our community unique: Where we shop, where we eat, and have fun — all of it makes our community great. Our one of a kind companies are a unique, and important part of why Lakeland Florida shopping is so great. Our tourism also benefits. When people go on vacation, they generally seek out destinations offering them the sense of being somewhere unique, not merely anyplace. Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases, needing less transportation, and usually set up shop in city or town centers as opposed to developing on the fringe. This usually means less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.


Creating Local Jobs: Small, local businesses are the largest employers in our community; and nationally, provide the most jobs. When people are employed by locally owned businesses, they tend to take more pride in their job, and have a vested interest in seeing the company succeed.


Get better service: Local businesses take more time to get to know customers and generally hire individuals with a better understanding of the goods they are selling. When you are Lakeland Florida shopping, you will get better service, and the care from a locally owner business that you may not see from larger, corporate businesses.


Invest in community: Local companies are possessed by people who are invested in the community’s future, are not as likely to leave, and live in this community. They want to see Lakeland succeed and grow.


Put to good use: Local companies in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more effective utilization of public services as compared to nationwide owned shops entering the community.

Purchase what you need, not what someone wants you to buy: A marketplace of thousands of small businesses is the easiest way to ensure innovation and low prices within the long-term. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales strategy but on their particular interests as well as the requirements of the local customers, guarantees a much more comprehensive array of product alternatives.


Support local prosperity: A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are far more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one of a kind businesses and distinctive character.


Think Lakeland Florida Shopping first. Purchase local when you can = Being a local!