It may not your typical advertising lure. But it’s one that just might make a difference … not just for the business owner, but for you and your neighbors as well.

This Saturday, merchants in Gloucester and Mathews will be displaying a decal on their windows with these words—The Buck Stays Here—as they hope to encourage customers come in and spend a few dollars with them. But it’s much more than that.

The promotion, which is the brainchild of Chesapeake Bank and the local Chambers of Commerce, is the latest in a series of attempts to raise awareness that dollars that are spent in independent, locally-owned shops and restaurants tend to stay in the community.

It’s called the multiplier effect, and a number of studies have proven its validity. In one such study, conducted earlier this year by Civic Economics of business in the Salt Lake City area, it was demonstrated that local retailers returned a total of 52 percent of their revenue to the l...