Saturday is Small Business Saturday. Sophia Lovasz with Local First Arizona says shopping local, rather than buying at chain stores, means most of the purchase price stays within the community.

"That’s really important to understand because those dollars go to our local business service providers, and any community efforts such as improving the roads, our education system, and things like that," Lovasz said.

A recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Business shows a third of small businesses see inflation as their top issue this holiday season.

An easy way to look up what's local is to visit LocalFirstAZ.com.