Directing spending toward community-owned firms is a reasonable instinct. As an entire economic strategy it has a weak record, and it is worth being precise about why.
A firm sustained mainly by loyalty has no external pressure to improve price, quality, or delivery. When the loyalty pool is exhausted, the firm has nowhere to grow into. Meanwhile the customer pays more for less and quietly stops.
The correction is not to abandon internal support. It is to pair it with external revenue, so the firm competes in the wider market and brings that money back.
