Nina Gatewood, the marketing director for Davis Downtown, lives what she preaches: Shop Davis, a new outreach program that launched earlier this month.

Gatewood — like many residents — buys clothing, jewelry, gifts and accessories at a number of stores in town. In an attempt to get more locals on the bandwagon, Davis Downtown is working with the Chamber of Commerce and the Yolo County Visitors Bureau to encourage residents to purchase their goods in Davis.

It’s the home-grown “buy local” movement, which has become ubiquitous across the United States as towns and cities struggle to compete against online behemoths like Amazon.

According the website — www.DavisDowntown.com/Shop-Davis — there are six reasons to Shop Davis:

* Sales tax — Money spent in Davis helps to pay for infrastructure, schools and city services.

* Community support — Local business owners are “more likely to support the same local charities, schools, organizations, nonprofits, events and festivals that are important to your family.”

* Convenience — Most shopping list items can be found today in Davis without waiting for delivery of online items or driving long distances.

* Jobs — Local businesses tend to hire locals.

* Standing out — Creating a city brand helps to grow tourism and attract other businesses.

* Eco-friendly — Shopping locally reduces air pollution and individual carbon footprints.

While Gatewood focuses on promoting stores in downtown, Kemble Pope, CEO of the Davis Chamber of Commerce, hopes that “Shop Davis” will extend to services like real estate and accounting, as well as encourage businesses to turn to each other for products.

“The idea is just spending your money in Davis,” Pope said. “Hopefully, it becomes so successful that the demand for goods becomes such that (new) businesses open to fill those gaps.”

The Shop Davis campaign emphasizes support of independent merchants for community-minded reasons. Statistics show that for every $100 spent at an independently owned Davis store, $68 stays in the community, compared to just $43 of the $100 spent at a chain store.

Alan Humason, executive director of the Yolo County Visitors Bureau, said the bureau is planning to promote Shop Davis alongside its business group counterparts.
Businesses that would like to join the campaign should email [email protected] or call 530-756-8763. Businesses will be added to the list on the Shop Davis webpage, www.DavisDowntown.com/Shop-Davis. In addition, the program will provide marketing materials “to promote your business as a community-conscious local business.”

— In the coming months, watch for the Shop Davis series, in which The Davis Enterprise will profile a local business — its owners, products and customers.

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