Shopping locally could earn residents monetary reward

MARQUETTE — Marquette County residents can now be rewarded for shopping at locally–owned stores with just a touch of a button.

The Marquette Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Ishpeming–Negaunee Chamber of Commerce have paired up to bring a Buy Local campaign to Marquette County.

By downloading an app that was developed for the campaign, users can take a snap shot of a receipt they got from one of the 100 businesses currently enrolled in the system.

This action then puts you in the running for a weekly prize of $300. And at the end of the year, anyone who has submitted at least one receipt is eligible for a $1,000 reward.

In addition to the financial incentive, app users are also rewarded with the knowledge that they’re supporting small businesses that drive the local economy.

“The goal of the campaign is to help identify a lot of those small businesses within our community that are important and be able to get people to think about how they spend their money,” said Jason Schneider, the Executive Director at the Marquette Chamber of Commerce. “If you normally buy all your books off Amazon, you should think about what does Snowbound have to offer and come in, poke around, see what works for you because a lot of times they have things you’d never think of rather than looking for that one book you want. And it keeps the money local and keeps people employed locally.”

Business owners interested in adding their store to the list can contact either chamber of commerce. For more information on the campaign or the app, click here.