New Small Business Report: More Shoppers Planning to Shop Local Small in 2018

A newly released report says 25 percent more consumers plan to shop or work with local small businesses in 2018, adding to the reasons local businesses need local business directory listings.

Arroyo Grande, United States – October 11, 2017 /PressCable/ —

A recently released study by Vistaprint, a leading provider of small business marketing tools, has some good news for the owners of local small business owners. Among the most encouraging statistics, more than 75 percent of the 1,500 U.S. consumers who responded to the survey plan to shop local for the holidays this year. This number is even higher in the Northeast, where 85 percent of consumers surveyed plan to spend at least part of their holiday budget at businesses within their geographic location.

“This is excellent news for local businesses,” says a spokesperson for Find US Local, a local business directory that focuses on helping people find local businesses to patronize. “And it emphasizes the importance of listing a business with a local small business directory in order to be more visible to local customers.”

According to the report, more than 75 percent of US shoppers feel that it is either very important or somewhat important to patronize local businesses. When asked what drives their decisions to shop local, more than 50 percent named “commitment to the local community” as their major reason for shopping at local businesses, and 42 percent said that personal service is important to them. Only about a third of consumers say their decision to shop local is driven by convenience, and only 20 percent say that price is a major factor when deciding to buy from a local business.

Nearly two-thirds of the respondents said that it is at least somewhat important to them that a local business has a website, and nearly 40 percent say that they use a combination of online and in-person shopping to do business locally.

This underscores the importance of online visibility for local businesses, FindUsLocal.com pointed out. It’s even more important as the holiday season approaches. According to the Vistaprint report, more than 80 percent of consumers plan to shop local for the holidays. Updated local business directory listings and participation in community Shop Local events will be a major factor in a successful holiday retail season.

“Nearly 80 percent of shoppers search for something online before they buy,” the local business directory spokesperson said. “And a growing number of those searches have local intent. When they do, marketing research shows that seven out of every 10 local searches result in a store visit and a purchase. Businesses without an online presence risk losing all of those customers to competitors.”

About FindUsLocal: FindUsLocal uses geolocation technology in visitor’s browsers to construct a home page focused on their city, town or community. Right there on the front page, they’ll find local weather, sports results for their favorite teams, and announcements of the top musical acts and events coming to their city. Smart business owners list their businesses on the site to be seen by those who are specifically looking for businesses in their local area.

Contact Info:
Name: Matthew Hesser
Organization: FindUSLocal.com
Address: P.O. Box 880, Arroyo Grande, CA 93421, United States
Phone: +1-805-534-9800

For more information, please visit http://www.FindUsLocal.com

Source: PressCable

Release ID: 248938