State leaders are asking people to avoid crowds this year by doing their holiday shopping at small local businesses on Black Friday.
The Michigan Economic Development Corp. has launched a new campaign encouraging people to shop local, both to reduce crowds at big retailers and to help small businesses make it through the winter.
The Michigan Retailers Association says, in 2017, people in Michigan spent $18.5 billion on out-of-state retailers. It claims that, if one out of every ten of those purchases was made at a local store instead, it would add $1.2 billion to the state’s economy and create 10,600 new jobs.
Many local retailers allow people to make purchases online to avoid in-person interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
