Small Business Saturday, a day set aside to shop local small businesses, is Nov. 30. The Shop Small Movement invites merchants and other community members to get involved in encouraging consumers to support small, local businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
But why wait?
Local merchants are our neighbors. We see them at our local schools, churches, and civic organizations. They bring jobs and collect sales tax dollars that stay in the community. Let’s remember them in our shopping plans, not just on Small Business Saturday, but all year round.
Think about your last trip to a “big box” store or your last online purchase. You probably found what you needed and maybe even saved a bit of money. Your transaction was completed.
Shopping small offers an experience you can’t get online or in a large store. Cashiers and shop owners take the time to help you and truly appreciate your business. You are much more likely to have a good experience along with that transaction at a local small business.
The National Retail Federation expects holiday sales for 2019 to increase by 3.8-4.2% over 2018. NRF also expects that 530,000-590,000 seasonal workers will be hired nationwide. But, online and other non-store sales are expected to increase between 11 percent and 14 percent over last year.
This means local merchants will get a smaller piece of holiday sales if we don’t make an effort to support them.
The pendulum has been swinging away from the little guy for years. It’s time to get it swinging back to keep sales in our communities.
So, don’t forget to shop small first. Explore your local shops and get to know the people behind those businesses. Give them a chance to show you what they have to offer. You might be surprised at what you will find in your own backyard.
