This year, after watching Hurricane Helene tear through Asheville, Black Mountain and other towns close to where I call home, I made a commitment to getting my Christmas gifts locally. Not only did I want to support small businesses grappling with reduced tourism and damage from the storm, but I also wanted to take the opportunity to find gifts that were locally and sustainably made.

When I do my holiday shopping, I’m usually on the hunt for the best deal from large corporate stores like Amazon, Target or wherever else has the best sales at the time. I research my items, plan ahead of time and take advantage of two-day shipping to snag those last-minute items. As a busy mom, the convenience is a much-appreciated bonus.

However, shopping small is essential to keeping the American economy alive. According to the Small Business Administration, 99.9 percent of businesses in the United States are considered small, and they employ nearly half (45.9 percent) of American workers and making up 43.5 percent of the country’s GDP.

Small businesses typically have trouble competing with larger corporate outfits when it comes to pricing, marketing and e-commerce capabilities. They also have it tougher than big-box retail stores when it competing with them for workers, customers and overall sales. A dollar at a small business goes much further than a dollar at the likes of Amazon or Target – both for the business and the local economy.

While shopping small wasn’t as easy as ordering things with a click and waiting for my packages to arrive, I had a lot more fun holiday shopping this year – and enjoyed supporting my community with my purchases.

1. Even a small purchase has a lot of impact

According to data from the American Independent Business Alliance, shopping locally creates a multiplier effect – 48 percent of revenue at local businesses circulates into the local economy, creating jobs, building a pipeline of purchases from other businesses and helping fund charitable contributions. In comparison, only 14 percent of revenue for chain stores returns to the local economy.

For small business owners, every dollar counts. Many of the owners and staff I interacted with were grateful for my patronage and took the time to talk to me, even when the shop was busy. Many of them complimented my baby daughter and thanked me for my business.

Even shopping online had an impact from afar. When one of my favorite craft Instagram accounts advertised their holiday ornaments, I went ahead and bought one and left a good review. Later that day, the owner shared the review on her page and thanked her customers for helping to boost her business and pay for her daughter’s education.

2. You feel connected to your community

Small businesses are the backbone of America’s towns and cities. They help form a unique local scene and contribute greatly to the local economy. Small businesses often sponsor community events and youth sports teams, run booths at local fairs and help make each town unique.

The shopping experience at big box stores lacks that unique charm offered by small businesses. All the aisles are arranged in the same fashion (unless they decide to switch it up to make you wander around and buy more stuff.) They all pump in the same company-approved radio music, they all offer pretty much the same stock and they all tend to exist in unwalkable little islands surrounded by parking lots. If you’re in the suburbs, the shopping experience tends to be a closed sequence of exiting your car, entering the store, getting your stuff, and then exiting to your car again.

Shopping small – especially if you’re hitting up a downtown area – tends to be an exercise in both a town’s offerings and, well, exercise. Not only did I get my steps in (especially hauling my daughter’s stroller), but I also enjoyed the old historic buildings, the art installations and the local musicians playing holiday music on the corner.

When I was strolling around town, I chatted to store owners and clerks, learned about an upcoming holiday parade and visited some shops I knew I’d visit in the off-season.

3. You let yourself be surprised

Small businesses are known for their offerings not typically found at big box retailers. In Bankrate’s holiday shopping survey, 61 percent of respondents reported small businesses’ unique gifts and products gave them an edge over big box stores.

As someone who’s a chronic planner (I have spreadsheets upon spreadsheets for things like my DVD collection), going holiday shopping with only a rough battle plan was a little scary. While there were some specific items I knew I was going to buy, I otherwise tried to keep it loose and find things that I think my family would like.

Letting myself go with the flow and shop around – instead of typing increasingly specific queries into an online search box or hunting down brands at a big retailer – allowed me to look at what the downtown had to offer.

I found myself having fun hunting through different shops to find the perfect thing for my friends and family. Sometimes I would find something I wasn’t on the hunt for, but knew would be perfect for a friend. My gift list quickly grew – as did my reasons for visiting people this season.

4. You think harder about who you’re getting gifts for

Impulse purchases were the bread and butter of my small shopping experience. Like 38 percent of Americans surveyed in Bankrate’s impulse shopping survey, I often found myself grabbing something that wasn’t necessarily on my shopping list.

Other times, the store didn’t have exactly what I was looking for. While certain items I stubbornly store-hopped for, with others I was fine with changing up my list.

I kept a running list of things that my family had mentioned they needed or were looking for – like my mother-in-law lamenting how her favorite teapot had broken – and thought about each person’s likes and dislikes. It made shopping a fun challenge – especially for those who didn’t have a set list of gift requests.

5. The employees know what they’re talking about

It’s no surprise that the general public considers employee expertise to be a strength of small businesses – 61 percent of respondents for Bankrate’s holiday shopping survey found that small businesses offer better customer service over large retailers.

It’s something I saw in action when I shopped at small businesses. When I had questions about what would be a good gift for my chili-loving sister, one of the employees gave me an in-depth explanation for the different spice mixes the store had to offer and their heat levels.

In several of the stores I visited, the employees were clearly passionate about the stores’ offerings, and mentioned their favorite products that they used in their own household. Seeing employees be so supportive of the business made me happy to support them in return – especially with all the demands of the holiday shopping rush on the staff.

Bottom line

Even as a busy parent with limited time to shop, I found myself having fun. My baby enjoyed all the walking, I discovered a bunch of stores that I’ll visit after the holiday season and I got to see some gorgeous downtown holiday displays.

While I’ll always be a sucker for shopping in my pajamas (emergency midnight diaper order club members, raise your hands) hitting up my local downtown area reminded me how much fun in-person shopping can be – and how rewarding it is to give back to my local economy.