Your-ville vs. Bentonville
I’ve never been to Bentonville, Arkansas, but I hear it’s amazing. This vibrant community boasts an abundance of parks, greenbelts, sidewalks, biking trails, community centers, and cultural arts venues. From what I hear, Bentonville might be called of the Quality of Life Capital of the country!
Bentonville is thriving, in part because it serves as the home base for Walmart. The advertisers, bankers, lawyers, insurance carriers, and packagers that support Walmart generally come from the Bentonville area. When you shop at Walmart and spend, say, $100, approximately $20 stays in your local economy, while about $40—or even more—flows right back to Bentonville. In contrast, when you spend that same $100 at a locally owned merchant, like Hanoverdale Agway in East Hanover Township, Dauphin County, PA around $60 remains in our community. This money is reinvested in local businesses, benefiting our local bankers, insurance providers, and service providers. And when that remaining $60 is spent again within our local economy, another 60% is reinvested, compounding the positive impact.
Let’s break this down further:
- Case Study: Chris and Melissa recently moved to our area from Dallas, TX. After buying a home, they needed to stock up on essentials, from rakes to dog food. They opted to visit a Hanoverdale Agway and spent $992.83. Of that, approximately 60%—or $595.70—gets reinvested back into the local economy. Over time, this cycle of reinvestment yields a total economic impact of about $2,467.05! This illustrates how local businesses contribute to community growth by circulating funds multiple times within the area.
- Comparison with Big Box Retailers: In contrast, if Chris and Melissa spent the same amount at a big box retailer, the reinvestment would be significantly lower. With only 20% of the initial amount staying in the local economy, their total impact would only amount to $288.13. This stark difference highlights the importance of choosing local: every dollar spent at a local business not only supports the shop owner but also fuels local jobs, services, and infrastructure.
Why Choose Local?
Ultimately, every purchase we make has implications for our community. So, do you want to build Bentonville, or do you want to build Your-ville? The choice is yours—let's invest in our community’s future!
