SHIFT10 Day

It wasn’t all that long ago that the local business was the foundation of our shopping experience. Ma and Pop shops, local craftsman and farmers, these were all part of a towns local flavor, and multiple stops were made during the shopping day. We knew our neighbors and did business with them, but over the past few decades, the big box store has been king. Walmart, Target, K-Mart, and other stores like them now command the greatest percentage of our monthly expenditure. SHIFT10 Day encourages you to revisit these bygone days and return to supporting your local businesses by making them 10% of your spending!

History of SHIFT10 Day

SHIFT10 Day was created by Scott’s Marketplace in 2016 to encourage shoppers to shift 10% of their spending into their local economies. It all started with an online campaign aimed at building awareness for the shop local movement, and even the opportunities for shopping locally online. Our local communities are made of our friends and neighbors, and who better to support with your shopping dollar than the people you live with and see very day?

Big Box stores dominate the landscape and expand their operations every day, but their generic cookie-cutter facades can’t provide the same personality or satisfaction that shopping with someone you know can. There is no distant company to file complaints with, no immediate feedback that lets them know how they’re serving your community. Every big box store serves exactly the same materials and resources as every other big box store in the same chain, and thus there’s no personality or special connection to their local community.

Along with this, there comes the satisfaction of supporting the people you live with. You know that it’s your business that helps to feed families, build homes, and educate those who live in the community you’re a part of, and there’s no better satisfaction than that.

How to celebrate SHIFT10 Day

It’s pretty simple really, it’s right there in the name. Shift 10% of your monthly shopping dollars to spending in your local area. A great place to start is by getting out there and finding out about the local businesses near to you. Farmer’s Markets and Craft Fairs can be just a beginning, but also look into local dairies, chicken farms, and other resources to bring your dollar back to your community!