CONCLUSION

Personal + professional services is a $1.5 billion industry on Cape Cod

With this study and its 2020 predecessor, Love Live Local and Civic Economics have painted a clear picture of the value of independent, locally owned retailers, restaurants, hotels and business and personal service providers in the distinctive local economy of Cape Cod and Barnstable County.

Together, with the 2021 Local Matters: Investigating Influence, these reports present a compelling image of the economic importance of Cape Cod’s local business ecosystem and the value of supporting it through purchasing decisions and policy choices.

While chains like H&R Block, Staples, Kinkos, Best Buy and Planet Fitness and online services like TaxAct, Vistaprint, LegalZoom, Geico and Peloton extract dollars from Cape Cod, at local businesses who provide a superior level of service, you get a reverberation of local spending. The extra dollars in the local economy produce more jobs for residents, extra tax revenues for local governments, more investment in commercial and residential districts, and enhanced support for local nonprofits, and contribute much more to community vitality.