Shop small on November 30

Small Business Saturday started Nov. 27, 2010, when the day was conceived and promoted by American Express using a nationwide radio and television advertising campaign. (If the company had used print advertising, it probably would have caught on better). The company also utilized social media and public relations campaigns.
The idea is to urge holiday shoppers to spend money in their local small businesses the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Large retail stores traditionally advertise all kinds of “door busters” on Black Friday. For years, many of those same stores were open Thanksgiving Day, which kind of takes the fun out of hunting for early bargains on Friday. It also tends to ruin a great traditional American holiday. Some of the stores have since ceased that activity.
The U.S. Small Business Administration says $17 billion was spent at small businesses on Small Business Saturday in 2023. People are encouraged to get the word out about the 33 million small businesses in the country. Shoppers are encouraged to share their experiences on social media by using the #ShopSmall hashtag. Since 2010, the total reported U.S. spending at small businesses during the annual Small Business Saturday is an estimated $201 billion.
States have embraced Small Business Saturday, with governors issuing proclamations supporting the campaign. It’s difficult to know exactly how successful the promotion has been because it would mean comparing small merchants’ total sales that day with an estimate of the amount consumers would have spent without a campaign. Some 14 years after it was first thought of, however, we have to believe it has continued to grow and continued to help out small businesses, which always need our business more than the giant box stores we mindlessly go into when we need something, or these days, while we are shopping from home in our pajamas.
Nevertheless, we believe the idea is a good one and at least gets people thinking about their small, local businesses that are there year around to serve them. Many feel like a neglected child once the holiday season starts rolling around, especially on Black Friday when shoppers set their sights on the “early bird” specials, or when people jump straight to Amazon or eBay to purchase their gifts. Please remember that these days, even the smallest of shops usually have a website, so don’t forget to go to those sites first. If we don’t want a world where our only shopping options are Wal-Mart and Amazon, we need to support our local shops.
Let’s plan to do our part and spend our money locally this holiday season on Small Business Saturday and most other days year around. This is the only way we can keep our small towns alive and prosperous. Custer has no lack of small businesses that can provide you with great customer service and wonderful gifts for the holiday season. Be sure to check them out!