The Phoenix, Arizona business scene is planning new initiatives to provide support for local businesses, Phoenix's city website reported.
The new initiatives started on December 1 and are aimed at helping companies with fewer than 25 employees, which represent over 70 percent of the businesses in Phoenix. The campaign is two-fold and plans to utilized the hashtag #LoveLocalPHX for merchants, nonprofits, restaurants and service providers to use for social media posts. Additionally, businesses may consider utilizing the hashtag on email signatures on emails to customers to raise awareness.
“This is not just about holiday shopping. The pandemic has gone on longer than any of us expected it would,” said Mayor Kate Gallego. “Phoenix is committed to helping local retailers figure out creative ways to reinvent their business models and stay resilient during the coming holidays and shopping season beyond the new year.”
Small businesses seeking additional help in navigating the new landscape can do so by contacting the city’s Small Business COVID-19 Support Team at 620-262-5040.
Over the summer, approximately $19 million in grants and utility payment assistance was rendered to over 2,000 small businesses.
It is important to realize the large-scale impact of small-scale improvements, such as how local businesses can aid the city’s economy. Money spent at a small, local business, means that much of that money stays in the Greater Phoenix economy.
“Local retailers are an integral part of the Phoenix economy,” said Mayor Gallego. “When a shopper spends $100 in a locally-owned store, $43 of that stays in Greater Phoenix. It’s a tremendous investment in the local economy.”
Thomas Barr, executive director of Local First Arizona, said that businesses will need to approach their work in a different lens than they previously did.
“Businesses need to adjust for contactless transactions and change the way sales take place to accept online or digital payments or allow for in-person or curbside pickup, as examples,” Barr said.