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Top 10 Reasons to BuyLocal
More About Buying Locally

Help support your local community the easy and convenient way by just making a minor shift in your buying habits. We can show you how by shifting just 10% of your regular purchases away from those “big box” stores, you can make major strides in promoting your own community.

Take a moment to browse our pages and Local Business Listings and see how buying from local merchants can benefit your community more than perhaps you realize.

Small Shift, Big Impact

By connecting with local merchants, you will keep more dollars in your local community. It has been proven repeatedly that local businesses keep 3 times as much of their revenues circulating in the local economies compared to big box store revenues.

If you’re not familiar with the advantages that local purchasing brings to a local community, be sure and check out the items under “Consumers” in the right-hand navigation links.
Welcome to the Houlton Buy Local site where Houlton residents can find the products and services that they may be looking for and support the local community at the same time.

We encourage everyone to review the Participating Businesses list as well as browse through the many Coupons offered by these participating member businesses.

WHY SUPPORT LOCALLY OWNED BUSINESSES?

Simply put, keep the dollars in the Houlton economy. It has been shown in many studies that for every $100 spent at a locally-owned business, $45 stays in the local economy, creating jobs and expanding the local tax base. For every $100 spent at a national chain or franchise store, only $14 remains in the community. Shopping locally gives 3 times the benefit to the community!

Keep the cities unique. Houlton are unique cities, made up of various neighborhoods and a diverse group of residents, businesses, churches and schools.

Residents like the things that make Houlton unique. The aggressive marketing tactics of chain stores and franchises threaten to destroy the unique neighborhoods and business community.

Shopping locally creates jobs. Studies show that locally-owned businesses create more jobs, and in some sectors, provide better wages, benefits, and working conditions than national chains.

Preserve entrepreneurship. Locally-owned businesses are at the heart of the American dream. Our young people need to know there is an opportunity for them to owna business when they grow up.

Support a healthier environment. Local businesses tend to open in more urban areas where walking, use of a bicycle or shorter car rides result in less dependence on imported fossil fuels. This helps lessen pollution, sprawl, over-development and the impact on waterways and forests.

Better choices for the consumer. One of the harmful results of chain and franchise operations is that they limit choice to the consumer, reduce competition for better service, control prices and often operate in inconvenient locations. Local business owners have the expertise and knowledge of local tastes and preferences not found in nationally-owned companies.