There are some great apps out there that can help you locate businesses in your area to check out, and also read reviews from other locals. Here’s our guide to the best apps that will help you support your local independent stores.
1. Google Maps
Google Maps is a great way to find local small business to support in your area. You can search for exactly what it is that you’re looking for and sort through businesses in map view or list view. Sometimes it helps to zoom in on an area even further and search again to bring up even more results.
Although there’s not a way to sort all the listings by local businesses only, it’s pretty easy to figure out which businesses are local based on their names. Most of us know chain restaurants and clothing stores by name so they’re easy to spot.
Download: Google Maps for Android | iOS (Free)
2. Facebook
Facebook is famous for finding and selling used items through its Marketplace platform. But it’s also great for finding and supporting small businesses near you.
Most areas should have local Facebook groups that either have members who own small businesses, members who mention other small businesses, or both. It’s a great way to find traders near you and actually interact with the business owners, or hear real reviews from others in your area.
Try searching “local small businesses” and you should see a few groups pop up for your local cities.
Download: Facebook for Android | iOS (Free)
3. Local Flavor
The Local Flavor app will help you find local restaurants and other small businesses to try out while also giving you great discounts at the same time. Depending on your area, there may be more deals to check out. If you live in a highly populated city, you’ll see a lot more deals than if you live in a rural area.
There are coupons to use for a variety of businesses, including restaurants, salons, clothing stores, dentist offices, and more. Once you find a deal you want to try out, you can print or clip the coupon and present it to your local retailer.
Download: Local Flavor for Android | iOS (Free)
4. Nextdoor
You might have heard of Nextdoor for keeping track of what’s going on in your neighborhood and helping lost dogs and cats find their owners, but this app can also help you find small businesses in your area that your neighbors love.
You can browse your home page and usually find a few posts about businesses in your area. Or you can navigate to the businesses tab where you can find updates and local deals for businesses near you.
One of the best features in the app is the Neighborhood Favorites tab. Here, you can see all the local businesses that your neighbors have been loving all year, voted on with likes. While there will be chain restaurants and businesses looped in with local businesses here, it’s still a great way to see which small businesses rank best among your neighbors.
Download: Nextdoor for Android | iOS (Free)
5. Tripadvisor
You’ve probably used the Tripadvisor app or website to find things to do when you’re going on vacation. But have you ever used it for your own home town?
Locals and tourists that use Tripadvisor will all have useful info about the best local restaurants to visit and other small businesses to support. Because so many people use Tripadvisor, it’s a great resource when you want to find small businesses to support but also want to make sure they’re worth your money.
Download: Tripadvisor for Android | iOS (Free)
6. Yelp
Yelp will help you see what people around you really think of the restaurants and businesses in your area. Users of the app can review businesses with a one to five star rating and give a description attached to their review if they want.
Although you shouldn’t only try out local restaurants and businesses that have four stars or higher, Yelp is a good start if you’ve never ventured outside of chain restaurants and retailers. You can discover what other people are loving in your area and even add reviews of your own if you want to!
Download: Yelp for Android | iOS (Free)
7. Foursquare City Guide
Foursquare City Guide is similar to Tripadvisor in that it’ll help you find local things to do and places to go. It’s just a bit of a different interface and it has separate reviews from Tripadvisor.
The Foursquare home page lets you search for restaurants sorted by breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Then, you can also search for local coffee and tea shops, bars, taverns, and other places to go. Although you will see chain restaurants and retailers here, like Chipotle and Chili’s, you can usually find a ton of local options too.
Download: Foursquare City Guide for Android | iOS (Free)
8. Etsy
Etsy is a great place to find unique gifts for friends and family and support small businesses at the same time. Etsy can help you find items locally or globally. If you want to only shop from sellers in your area, there’s a filter for that in the Etsy app.
Under the Shop location tab, you can select Custom location and type in your area. This will only bring up sellers in that specific area that are selling what you’re looking for. Or if you want to just support sellers in your own country, you can filter that way as well.
Download: Etsy for Android | iOS (Free)
9. LivingSocial
LivingSocial is another great app that will help you find local deals for small businesses in your area. There are discounts for spas, salons, restaurants, events, and more.
Similar to the Groupon app, you can download the deal within the app and present it on your phone when you get to the retailer. This makes it super easy to keep track of your coupons. Whether you’re looking to have a spa day or some great food, the LivingSocial app will help you discover new businesses and save you money at the same time.
Download: LivingSocial for Android | iOS (Free)
10. GettinLocal
The GettinLocal app is great to use for vacations and places you’ve never been before, but it’s equally great to use in your own city. You might find restaurants you’ve never eaten at or local attractions you’ve never thought to explore.
This app will show local restaurants, attractions, and other fun things within a certain mile radius of where you live. If you’re scrolling through the app and see something you may want to try out later, you can save it and come back to it when you’re ready.
Download: GettinLocal for Android | iOS (Free)
You Can Shop Locally for Used Products Too
Purchasing new products from small businesses in your area is a great way to support your local economy, but so is buying used products from local sellers. There are some great apps out there that will help you find fantastic products from people in your area.
This helps you save some money, lets a local neighbor earn some money, and also helps out the environment by recycling used items. It’s a win-win-win!
