Shop Local as a Movement: The bold Buy El Paso program
Updated: Jul 16
A few weeks ago, the El Paso City Council unanimously voted to continue the Buy El Paso program, powered by Open Rewards. During the discussion, several council members spoke about the difference the program has made for residents and small businesses across the city - generating a staggering $5.4 million in local economic impact.
But Buy El Paso has done more than reward residents for spending locally. When El Paso's economic development leaders set out to strengthen small business spending, they didn't just launch a program. They launched a movement. It has given an entire city a rallying point — a shared identity around the simple but powerful mindset that where you spend your dollars matters.
A City That Shows Up for Its Own
There's something unmistakable about El Paso, Texas. It's a city that wears its identity loudly and proudly — a border community shaped by two cultures and powered by a deep, almost defiant loyalty to everything local.
Being the sixth-largest city in Texas and home to nearly 700,000 residents, El Paso is a city with a vibrant small business culture — locally owned restaurants, family-run retail shops, and independent service providers that have long been the economic and cultural backbone of the community. But like cities everywhere, El Paso faced the familiar challenge: competition and online retailers make it harder than ever to keep dollars local.
The answer wasn't a campaign telling residents what they should do. It was giving them a reason — a rewarding, tangible, real-money reason — to put their local loyalty into action.
That's exactly what Buy El Paso delivers.
"When we launched Buy El Paso, we knew we needed to make it simple and accessible for both businesses and consumers. The Open Rewards app allowed us to achieve that—providing businesses with a low-cost, high-reward tool that promotes growth and sustainability. The feedback from local businesses has been incredibly positive, with many seeing increased foot traffic and higher sales." Klarissa Mijares, Business Services Coordinator, City of El Paso
What Buy El Paso Is, and How It Works
At its core, Buy El Paso is a rewards program that makes shopping local feel like a no-brainer. Residents shop at any of the 3,000+ eligible local businesses across El Paso, submit their receipts through the Open Rewards app, and earn real cash back — redeemable at any other eligible local business in the community.
For businesses, enrollment is automatic. There's no application process, no staff training, no technology to install. If you're a qualifying local business in El Paso, you're in — and your customers are already earning rewards when they walk through your door.
For city administrators, the Open Rewards platform provides a real-time dashboard with visibility into economic impact, user behavior, spending trends, and program performance — giving the city the data it needs to continuously refine and grow the program.
A Brand Built Around Belonging
Buy El Paso isn't just a slogan — it's a civic statement. The branding deliberately taps into something that El Paso residents already feel: that this city is worth fighting for, worth investing in, worth showing up for every single day.
The city's economic development team and small business liaisons have been at the center of the program's community outreach. Their work reflects what makes Buy El Paso unique: building a culture of local loyalty that residents carry with them in every shopping decision they make.
Carlos Pedrueza, Marketing Manager for the Better Business Bureau El Paso, has similarly championed the program as a way to connect residents with the businesses that make El Paso "El Paso" — the taquerías, the boutiques, the family-owned shops that give the city its distinctive character.
Together, Buy El Paso makes a bold statement of authenticity, community, and belonging.
The Numbers Tell the Story
Results are what validate a program - and Buy El Paso's results are remarkable.
Over 3,800 local businesses supported by the program across the city
$5.4M in verified local economic impact generated through the program - that's $5.4M of real dollars being spent at the local businesses
92% of Buy El Paso shoppers say Open Rewards directly influenced their decision to shop locally
El Paso shoppers have written over 1,100 shout-outs towards their beloved local businesses:
I love that the City of El Paso created this program to encourage people to support local businesses
Love going to local places to get rewards. Makes it more worthwhile
I have loved this place since day one. The baristas are always friendly and welcoming. I come here all the time to destress and the atmosphere here always helps me a lot. You all have no idea how much your service, atmosphere and amazing roasted coconut coffee helps me. Keep up the great work.
Excellent service! Willing to travel to get rewards! Decided to buy a helmet as well!
A Local Economy Ecosystem
What Buy El Paso represents is something bigger than a single initiative. It's proof that when a shop-local brand is built with genuine civic identity at its core, residents don't just participate - they invest.
The Open Rewards platform gave El Paso the infrastructure. The Buy El Paso brand gave it a soul.
For economic development leaders across the country, El Paso's model offers a clear lesson: the most effective shop-local programs are the ones that make residents feel like spending locally is an act of pride - a declaration of who they are and what they stand for.
In El Paso, that declaration has a name. And it’s returning the city’s investment in multitudes.
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