While some big chain shopping is hard to avoid (grocery stores or Costco/Sams) but anything else where I can shop local I always do no matter what even if costs a little bit more. 90% or more of the time I've had much more pleasant experiences shopping local than shopping at a chain store.

One of the things I loved about my hometown - (which is in Los Angeles County of all place) is that their downtown area there is rule that every shop/restaurant has to be locally/independently owned. I wish more cities did that