Local business Saturdays, shop local stickers, and enhanced local-business advertising campaigns all encourage us to think twice about where we purchase our next bracelet, pair of shoes, candle, or even jar of salsa.

Deciding to purchase your next pair of shoes at Revival instead of Walmart is a gift that keeps on giving. Local businesses provide venues for artists to sell their handcrafted products, employ community members, and allow community members to have a choice in where their products come from.

Unlike national chains, local businesses cannot rely on advertising, training, and brand recognition that come from being a part of a nationally known franchise. Instead, local businesses rely on community members to support them by choosing to shop in their stores.

But with higher prices, many question why it is worth spending the extra buck for a similar product — a fair question to ask.

Local businesses provide communities with a variety of products that simply would not be readily available if local businesses did not exist. A local business is more than just another option to get your next pair of shoes. Local businesses define communities. In Iowa City, our streets are riddled with local flavor. Every time people visit Iowa City, they are welcomed with hundreds of merchants they cannot find anywhere else.

I love Iowa City, and a big part of my love for this city comes from the shops that line our streets. Local businesses are an investment to our community — an investment that local people just like you and I should support.