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.
These businesses 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.
The idea behind Small Business Saturday is to promote and encourage us all to shop at our locally-owned small businesses. It’s paying off; more shoppers are spending money at small businesses. According to 2016 results by the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) and American Express an estimated 112 million people reported shopping at a small business on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, a 13 percent increase from 2015.
Money spent at our small businesses gets reinvested in the community and draws attention to local merchants. By taking the small step of shopping locally this holiday season, we can make a big impact on our communities. It’s important to recognize the significant contribution our small businesses make to our economy.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving and think of what we’re thankful for, add small businesses to the list. They are owned and operated by our neighbors, friends, church family, and budding entrepreneurs who want a piece of the American dream. We can do our part to help them thrive.
Let’s continue the success of Small Business Saturday and shop at our locally owned businesses and retailers. Visit Greenville.com’s shopping guide to find local businesses to support this Saturday.