Local Shopping – It’s more important than you think!

Where you spend your money is more important than you think!
Shopping at local businesses is vital to a thriving local economy. Imagine you have $100 to spend; you could for example spend it at McDonalds. This would be divided between staff, stock, costs, shareholders and profits. Consequently, up to $86 heads to either a capital city or overseas.
However, if you spent it at a local café or eatery, it would be divided between staff, stock, rent and profit; leaving a lot more money in the local economy.
Now, this the important part… If the owners and staff of that business also shop locally, this creates a cycle. This cycle keeps the local economy running as each purchase flows back into the cycle.
The median weekly income in Albury is $947 P/W. The median rent or mortgage is about 50% ($470) this leaves the balance for other expenses, and you get to decide where it is spent. This makes for a BIG difference in our local economy.
Albury’s economy is resilient and diverse in the face of economic challenges facing regional areas, with a Gross Regional Product of $5.25 Billion in 2024, a 32% growth over the prior 5 years. The business landscape in Albury is vast with about 5200 operating businesses with sole traders making up 59%, small businesses with less than 20 employees making up 38%, and large businesses only accounting for 3%.
Another benefit of a thriving local economy is that it makes Albury an attractive tourist destination. This is important because tourists who spend money at local businesses add money to the local economy which supports an estimated 1826 local jobs

In 2025, AlburyCity, Albury Business Connect and AlburyCBD ran a ‘Shop-a-local’ campaign with the goal of encouraging and rewarding locals for shopping at over 80 participating local businesses. It generated an additional $450,000 into the local economy with shoppers spending an average of $159.81 per transaction. The campaign, which ran for twelve weeks and attracted 1508 entrants, featured weekly prize draws including a $5000 cash prize sponsored by Telstra and a $2000 cash prize sponsored by Priceline Pharmacy (AlburyCity).
This week kicks of two key initiatives to provide a boost to our local economy, with 2AY launching its $40K local shopping initiative, and the AlburyCBD Committee of our local business chamber, Albury Business Connect launching its Shop-a-Local campaign.
Albury Business Connect General Manager, Glen Robinson says by spending at locally owned businesses, we keep them open and thriving. This enhances our attraction to visitors to our city, that ensures we bring in spending from outside our local economy, and that’s the ultimate way to ensure our economic success.
“When people travel to our region, they don’t bring their bed or their pantry. That’s our opportunity to provide a great experience for then to enjoy. Albury boasts such a variety of accommodation options coupled with a wide selection of eateries. By supporting our local businesses, they in turn support us.
I encourage our entire community to take a moment to stop and genuinely consider where they are buying everyday items from. That’s the difference between keeping our community financially strong, that in turn provides all the things we expect from our local businesses, like great service, local insights and even sporting sponsorships”.