Your friends and relatives are special. This holiday season, the gifts you give them should be special, too!
Big box stores are making a play for Black Friday and online retailers are selling Cyber Monday. Tucked in between, Small Business Saturday celebrates the local stores that make YOUR community unique. They are the mom-and-pop, brick-and-mortar stores that are locally owned and locally staffed. They are the fashion boutiques, gift shops, stationers, jewelers and others that offer an authentic shopping experience and one-of-a-kind products you may not be able to get anywhere else. They aren’t promoting themselves with big advertising budgets or e-mail blasts like their national competitors, but they are just as worthy of shoppers’ attention – and their gift-giving dollars.
Last year, an estimated 112 million consumers reported shopping at small businesses on Small Business Saturday – more than ever before, and a 13 percent increase from 2015 according to a survey released by American Express and the National Federation of Independent Businesses. Consumers spent an estimated $15.4 billion at independent retailers and restaurants.
This year, Small Business Saturday is celebrated nationwide on November 25, and I encourage you to participate in your own community.
Small businesses truly are the engines of our economy – and our communities. Over half of our workforce either owns or works for a small business, and small businesses create two out of every three net new jobs in the private sector. Across our great country, neighborhoods and families depend on the success of small business. By shopping at small businesses, your gift-giving dollars will stay in your community and support jobs for your neighbors – making the holidays a bit brighter for more people than just those on your shopping list.
This Saturday, “Shop Small” and share your splurges on social media with #ShopSmall. I hope you’ll be inspired to support your community’s small businesses not just on November 25 but all season long. You are supporting your neighbors – and the gifts they provide your communities all year round.
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