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Downtown Midland businesses will celebrate Buy Nearby Weekend October 2-4!

It’s all part of the Michigan Retailers Association’s (MRA) year-round Buy Nearby campaign that encourages shoppers to support their communities by spending their dollars locally.

Michiganders send $18.5 billion annually to out-of-state retailers! Keeping those sales in Michigan would give a big boost to our communities.

Independent research found that the state economy would grow by more than $1.2 billion and nearly 10,600 new jobs would be created if residents switched just one in 10 purchases from an online seller to a Michigan retailer.

“Just a modest change in shopping habits can have a huge impact on Michigan’s economy,” said William J. Hallan, incoming President and CEO of MRA. “Our Buy Nearby campaign encourages people to be intentional about their purchasing patterns. Keep your money in the Mitten!”

With 116,000 stores, Michigan’s retail industry employs about 877,000 workers and pays $21.6 billion in wages each year. That’s the direct impact. Indirectly, retailers purchase goods and services, such as cleaning services, security staff, accountants and more. And their employees spend money as well.

Additional information about the Buy Nearby campaign is available at buynearbymi.com and facebook.com/BuyNearbyMI. You also can follow the campaign on Twitter @buynearbymi and on Instagram @mibuynearby.