Shop Placer

An image of pancakes spelling out DAD and a heart with text about shopping local.

Shop Placer Facts

Placer County is home to roughly 13,000 businesses. It is estimated that between 80-90% of these are considered small businesses.

According to the U.S. Small Business Association and the U.S. Department of Labor, small businesses employ 77 million Americans and accounted for 65% of all new jobs over the past 17 years.

Local businesses are also more likely to support other local businesses such as banks, service providers and nearby farms. That means those other small businesses generate revenue from local purchases and can keep their own employees on their staff.

This is our fifth year sharing the Shop Placer campaign through our local chambers of commerce and cities. It began during the height of the pandemic to increase sales at the local level and support any small business going through hardship.

Beyond their commitment to serving the community and their support for other local businesses, research has shown that 91% of local business owners contribute to local schools, nonprofits and community groups, by volunteering and making donations.

Shopping locally can help save energy and resources by reducing carbon emission through less fuel for transportation and less packaging.

The Environmental Protection Agency has reported that clusters of small businesses in a walkable area, or near residential areas, may reduce car usage and encourage biking and walking for shoppers. Areas of the city designed for walking and outdoor shopping help reduce emissions from vehicles, improving air quality. As for the differences in online shopping, many carbon-creating practices can be reduced when shopping locally—anything from less air transportation and ground transportation for delivery to reduced packaging helps reduce a shoppers’ carbon footprint.

For every $100 you spend at local businesses, $68 will stay in the community.*
Independent retailers return more than three times as much money per dollar of sales to the community in which they operate than chain competitors.*
Independent restaurants return more than two times as much money per dollar of sales than national restaurant chains.*

* According to the U.S. Small Business Association and the U.S. Department of Labor

Related Projects

General Plan Update

This update will establish our community's vision for the future and is an expression of how our community wants to look, feel and change over the next 25 years.

Shop Placer

General Plan Update

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