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About the Mobile Chamber

The Mobile Chamber is a private business organization with more than 1,700 members and the economic developer for the City of Mobile and Mobile County. The Mobile Chamber’s focus is to provide members with networking, marketing and professional development opportunities, expand jobs in the area, develop the local workforce, advocate legislative priorities and offer resources to help small businesses grow. Additional information is on the Chamber’s website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

Shopping Locally is Vitally Important to the Local Economy

The Business View – May 2019 / From the Publisher

Bill Sisson, President & CEO, Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce

 

Spring is in full swing here in the Mobile Bay region, and that means summer is just around the corner. In preparation for the vacation season, many of us will be purchasing items for the summer and for myriad outdoor activities. People will be shopping for clothes, bathing suits, and buying new equipment for various lawncare and garden needs. And it won’t be long before lots of parents and their school children will be shopping for back-to-school needs.

 

In the hustle and bustle of this brisk shopping season, many shoppers will turn to the internet to make their purchases. Shopping on the internet can be fun, convenient, and at times can result in huge bargains and savings. But before you head straight to your computer or phone, I encourage you to consider shopping locally.

 

Why should you shop locally? There are a million reasons why you should, but the most important reason is because it directly supports the local economy. You are helping to support local jobs and are helping local businesses. And these businesses give back to the community in ways big out-of-town retailers simply cannot because they are not physically located here. That’s not to say internet sales are completely bad for Mobile, since we’re blessed to be a distribution hub for retailers like Walmart and Amazon. But before automatically defaulting to the internet for all your purchases, I encourage you to also consider the local small businesses that depend on all of us to keep them healthy and growing.

 

By the way, shopping locally is fun and provides a customer service experience unlike any you’ll find on the web. Local businesses tend to be much more service-oriented and responsive – and I can guarantee that you will be greeted with a warm welcome at their stores. They will undoubtedly go out of their way to satisfy you, their customer.

 

So next time you need to make a purchase or just go shopping for fun, take a look around our city at the hundreds of options available right here at home. You’ll be supporting your friends and neighbors and pumping up our local economy.

 

The Mobile Area Chamber has had fun using its branding campaign to encourage the community to spend their dollars right here at home. Through our media partners, Lamar Advertising and Lagniappe, we’ve created messages such as Believe in Mobile. Shop Local for Father’s Day. We’ve done the same with Mother’s Day, graduation and Christmas.

 

Click here to read The Business View – May 2019

 

Additional information is on the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce’s website at www.mobilechamber.com, on Facebook at @MobileChamber and Twitter at @MobileChamber.