It’s official, Richmond. We out-local everyone.
A new study from business lender OnDeck analyzed Instagram posts tagged #ShopLocal and #ShopSmall across nearly 500 American cities, and Richmond came out on top. With 159,500 tagged posts and 68,263 posts per 100,000 residents, RVA was officially named America’s Capital of #ShopLocal, beating second-place Raleigh, North Carolina, and third-place Kansas City, Missouri.
The timing could not be better. May is National Small Business Month, a full month dedicated to recognizing the people who pour their savings, their weekends, and their hearts into the shops, restaurants, studios, and service businesses that give Richmond its character.
So how did we earn the top spot? By showing up. By tagging the coffee shop. By bringing friends to the new boutique. By posting from the patio. By choosing the local florist over the grocery store bouquet. Every one of those small choices added up, and now Richmond can call itself the most shop-local city in America.
When you spend money at a Richmond small business, that money does more than buy a product. It stays here. According to research cited by OnDeck, about $68 of every $100 spent at a local business stays in the local economy, compared to just $43 at a national chain. This is what economists call the multiplier effect, and it’s the reason shopping local has such an outsized impact.
The data on small businesses nationally backs this up. The U.S. Small Business Administration reports that small businesses generate two-thirds of new jobs and drive 40% of America’s economic output. In Richmond, those numbers translate into mortgages paid, kids enrolled in summer camps, employees earning a living wage, and entrepreneurs taking the leap to open the next neighborhood favorite.
But it’s not just about the dollars. Local businesses build community. They sponsor youth sports teams, donate to school auctions, host fundraisers when a neighbor is in need, and create the kind of third spaces where Richmonders actually run into each other. They’re often the first to show up when our city is hurting, and the loudest cheerleaders when it’s celebrating.
But it’s not just the locals celebrating Richmond’s small businesses.
Here’s something travelers know that we sometimes forget: nobody plans a trip to visit a chain.
Richmond’s tourism appeal is built almost entirely on the back of small businesses. When visitors come to RVA, they’re not lining up at national restaurants or shopping at the same mall stores they have back home. They’re enjoying patio tables at independent restaurants in Scott’s Addition. They’re browsing vintage shops in Carytown. They’re grabbing pastries in Church Hill, picking up a record at a local shop, and sipping cocktails at a bar that exists nowhere else on earth.
Every thriving small business makes Richmond a more compelling place to visit. And every visitor who falls in love with our city, who tells their friends, who comes back for the wedding, the festival, the long weekend, brings tourism dollars that ripple right back through our local economy. Supporting small business and supporting Richmond as a destination are the same act.
This is part of what the OnDeck study captures. All those Instagram posts tagged with our city’s name? They’re more than civic pride. They’re a constant invitation. They show the world what Richmond looks like, what we eat, where we hang out, what we’re proud of. They put RVA on the map for travelers, transplants, and curious neighbors from across the country.
As we head into summer, the opportunities to shop, eat, and gift local are everywhere. Whether you’re planning a backyard cookout, packing for a weekend at a friend’s rivah house, or putting together a thank-you for your favorite hostess, here are some easy ways to keep your dollars in Richmond.
1. Pick a Local Patio
Summer in Richmond is patio season, and we have some of the best in the country. Skip the chains and book a table at a locally owned restaurant or brewery. Bring friends. Order another round. Tag the spot when you post the photo.
2. Bring a Local Hostess Gift
Heading to a friend’s place on the lake, the rivah, or the Outer Banks? A locally made hostess gift always lands better than something grabbed at the airport. Think a small-batch candle, a hand-thrown ceramic, a bottle from a Richmond wine shop, local honey or hot sauce, or a bouquet from a neighborhood florist.
3. Shop Local for Summer Celebrations
Birthdays, bridal showers, graduations, hostess thank-yous… summer is full of gifting moments. Richmond boutiques and makers offer the kind of thoughtful, one-of-a-kind finds that beat anything you’d find online. Bonus: you’ll get the warm feeling of knowing exactly who your money went to.
4. Make the Farmers Market a Saturday Habit
Richmond’s farmers markets are at their peak in summer. Get your produce, your flowers, your bread, your eggs, and your weekend coffee all in one stop, and meet the people who grew, baked, and made everything.
5. Show Out-of-Town Guests Real Richmond
When friends and family visit this summer, plan an itinerary that leans into local. Take them to the independent restaurants, the local bookstores, the neighborhood coffee shops, the small museums and galleries. Send them home with a story and a bag of local goodies.
6. Keep Posting and Tagging
Richmond didn’t become the #1 shop-local city by accident. Every post, tag, review, and share made a difference. Keep doing it. Tag the businesses you love, leave a review after a great experience, and share the spots you discover. It’s free, it takes thirty seconds, and it genuinely helps small businesses grow.
At Find Local RVA, we’re here to make supporting Richmond small businesses as easy as possible. We’re powered by InUnison, Richmond’s only membership organization dedicated exclusively to local, independent businesses, which means we know the RVA small business community inside and out.
Our local business directory lets you search for Richmond-owned shops, restaurants, and service providers, save your favorites, and add new spots as you discover them. Our blog and curated guides have ideas for everything from summer patios to indie bookstores to the best places to grab a bite before a Squirrels game.
Richmond earned the title of America’s Capital of #ShopLocal because of everyone who keeps choosing local first. This National Small Business Month, and all summer long, let’s keep showing the country exactly how it’s done.
