With the holiday shopping season underway, village leaders are making efforts to change the spending habits of Mortonites.
Last August, the Morton Tourism Association got involved in the 3/50 Project, which encourages citizens to choose three businesses in town they would miss if they were no longer open and spend $50 total among them each month.
The idea is based on a national project started by Cinda Baxter of Minneapolis, who wanted to bring awareness to the importance of small businesses to local economy.
Baxter estimated if half the employed population stuck to this 3/50 idea, it would generate $42.6 billion in revenue.
In Baxter’s calculations while formulating her plan, she found for every $100 spent locally, $68 returns to the community in taxes, payroll and other expenditures.
By contrast, if $100 is spent in a national chain, $43 comes back locally. If an online purchase is made, nothing returns to the community.
Susan Pyles, director of the Morton Tourism Association, said now is the perfect time to remind people of the 3/50 Project because of the heavy shopping they tend to do around the holidays.
“If they have the opportunity to purchase within the local community, they should do so. It’s our job as a community to really appreciate the great shops and products we have available in our hometown,” Pyles said.
With the economic downturn affecting most people, Pyles said she has noticed Morton residents are sticking to the basics and luxury items are going by the wayside.
“Everyone adjusts to change in the economic climate. Everything is more expensive, like food and fuel, and everyone feels that pinch,” Pyles said.
She added she has heard from many Morton restaurants who say the amount of people filling their dinner tables has gone down from 2008 as customers wait to take advantage of specials and watch their money more closely.
“I heard an interesting thing at a recent charity function from an East Peoria business. She was telling me that banquets and weddings are seeing a tremendous difference in attendance, too, because people don’t want to spend the money to dress up or purchase a gift,”
Pyles said she hates to hear people say they were disappointed to see stores close, like Witzig’s or Sullivan Foods, because the customers are ultimately responsible for helping keep their favorite stores open.
“Everyone needs a little loyalty during this difficult time. For example, if you have to get a wedding present, I’m not saying don’t shop at a franchise store. Just spend some of your dollars at your favorite smaller stores to keep money in our community and keep them open,” Pyles said.
“We have little treasures all over town. We’re blessed, that’s for sure,” she added.
Jennifer Daly, executive director for Morton Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council, said she is still in the midst of researching “shop local” campaigns around the country and talking with the tourism association to see if the 3/50 project is right for Morton.
“We may want to rebrand it a little bit to make it more easily understood when you say the name. Our business promotions team is talking with them about how we could launch a campaign next year that will tie in with 3/50 and its spirit, but maybe more easily tell you right away what it is and simplify the information,” Daly said.
The chamber launched a monthly e-mail publication in June called Morton Deals.
Morton Deals promotes local businesses by sending out promotional e-mails to customers on a monthly basis, much like larger retailers, such as Kohl’s or Target, have already been doing for years.
Daly said for smaller businesses, it can be difficult to take on something that aggressive without the time and staff to do so.
“Morton Deals reminds people of promotions or opportunities to go and buy things locally from a certain business. The shops submit to us a special deal or coupon they would like to get out there to current and potential clients. We have 1,110 names on the e-mail list so far and are working hard to grow that,” Daly said.
The chamber also offers a gift certificate program, where the money can only be spent in a chamber member business.
“So many people give gift cards or certificates every year for presents, and this is a great way to give someone one and make sure the money is spent in the local economy. That’s opposed to a Visa card, where dollars can be spent somewhere else,” Daly said.
Daly added families usually set a certain amount of dollars to spend on friends and family during the holidays, and people probably do not realize how powerful they are with every purchase they make.
“Every place they spend that dollar can support our community or another community. We think about it quite frequently here because we are so engaged with economic development,” Daly said.
“Those dollars lead us to grow and hire more people for our fire or police departments. We see how every dollar being spent in Morton contributes to helping build our local community ten-fold. Gifts online are not dollars coming to Morton,” she added.
For more information on the 3/50 Project, visit www.350project.net.
For more information on the chamber gift certificate program or to sign up for Morton Deals, visit www.mortonedc.org, or www.mortonchamber.org.
