San Francisco Locally Owned Merchants Alliance is born!

The San Francisco Locally Owned Merchants Alliance, encompassing numerous merchants across the City, has been specifically formed to identify and promote locally-owned independent retail businesses and to educate and inform residents and visitors on the positive economic impact on the community and the value to individuals of shopping at independent retailers first.

We hope to have thousands of merchant members proudly displaying a decal on their windows along with a poster highlighting the benefits of shopping locally. The message is simple: "Shop here and your money stays here."

Recent economic studies show that for every $100 spent by a consumer, locally-owned businesses give back $68 to the local economy, while national chains only return $43. (See www.civiceconomics.com/Andersonville/AndersonvilleStudy.pdf for the full report.)