Make the Most of Small Business Saturday

In 2010, American Express OPEN launched “Small Business Saturday”, a promotion aimed at supporting small businesses during the holiday season. The annual Small Business Saturday is being held every Saturday smack in between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

"Our hope is that Small Business Saturday becomes an iconic part of the American holiday shopping season, that it establishes itself on the heels of Black Friday and Cyber Monday and it becomes a tradition that you're going to give some of your shopping dollars to small businesses" said Susan Sobbott, president of American Express Open.

Small Business Saturday Resources

The movement is spreading like wildfire. More than 200 organizations have joined the campaign as sponsors and over 1.5 million people have friended Small Business Saturday's Facebook page. FedEx, Clear Channel, Google and other major corporations are participating.

• Google has partnered with American Express to create My Business Story, a new tool to help small businesses create promotional videos.
• Clear Channel is airing an awareness campaign in its 150 markets, encouraging local audiences to shop small on Small Business Saturday.
• Facebook is offering $100 in free Facebook ads to the first 10,000 businesses that sign up

Additional resources are available on the Small Business Saturday’s Facebook page, including free in-store signage, email marketing materials, several social media marketing tools.

Advantages to “Shopping Small”

From a consumer’s perspective, there a few enticements being offered to encourage shopping at your local community stores:

• Amex is giving a $25 statement credit to American Express card members who spend $25 or more on Small Business Saturday at a qualifying small brick-and-mortar, independent merchant that accepts American Express.
• FedEx is distributing $1 million worth of $25 Gift Cards to be spent at local merchants on November 26.

Beyond the personal advantages, shopping locally brings a lot of benefits to your community:

Create local jobs - Small local businesses are the largest employers, creating two out of every three new jobs nationally.

Keep money in the community - The Andersonville Study of Retail Economics found that of every $100 spent at a local, independent business, $73 remained in the community, while spending $100 at a chain produced only $43.

Increase charitable contributions – The Andersonville Study of Retail Economics also found that locally owned businesses contributed more to local charities and fundraisers than did their national counterparts.

Reduce environmental impact - Locally sourced materials and products produce less waste by eliminating unnecessary transportation and delivery, and reducing the amount of packaging being used. According to the National Resource Defense Council, buying local will help reduce pollution, improve air quality and improve our health.

If you are a small business owner, taking part in Small Business Saturday is a no-brainer. And if you’re not a small business owner? Well then, head to a few of your favorite local stores on the 26^th and bring your wallet!

How is your busniess taking advantage of Small Business Saturday? Let us know by commenting below.