Small Business Saturday
Small Business Saturday:
Celebrated every Saturday after Thanksgiving, the Small Business Saturday is dedicated to encouraging people to shop from Small Businesses. This day was founded by American Express in support of small businesses to counter the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales!
Year | Date | Day | Where |
2020 | 28th November | Saturday | United States |
2021 | 27th November | Saturday | United States |
2022 | 26th November | Saturday | United States |
Twitter Hashtags:
#SmallBusinessSaturday
Why Small Business Saturday?
There have been drastic changes in how businesses have grown in the last half-century. With globalization and technological advancements, Small Businesses everywhere have been neglected since the rise of large retail chains and shopping malls. Although it looks like it is all okay that small business owners run out of businesses soon but it harms the economy.
The trend of large chain retailers tends to displace small businesses easily as they find it hard to compete against them in the long run. The situation for small businesses in the US is more critical than in the Asian countries where the large retailer chains need to coexist to cater to different market demands. So small businesses in developed nations face the brunt due to different cultural ideas and are seen as harmful to the large chain retailers.
Thus the Small Business Saturday was started to encourage local talent and entrepreneurial spirit as well to encourage shoppers to shop from small businesses. It was founded by American Express in association with the non-profit organization, National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Small Business Saturday is observed on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to counter shopping from retail giants on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
The Small Business Saturday has been promoted on traditional media and social media since its establishment in 2010. The SmallBusinessSaturday.com URL was registered and sponsored by American Express. To promote this idea in 2010 and encourage participation, free advertisement worth $100 on Facebook was given for the first 10,000 small business owners for their signup and first 200,000 customers who used American Express credit cards to shop on Small Business Saturday to shop from small businesses would receive a $25 credit.
The idea caught up and is supported by the various small business development groups and other government associations. It’s key to remember that shopping from a small shop puts cash into the local economy than from a retail chain. So this day encourages people to support their local small businesses and small business owners to improve their sales during the holiday season.
How Can We Observe Small Business Saturday?
There are many ways to observe Small Business Saturday!
- Do your festival shopping from the local small shops
This year plan to shop everything from the local business to show your support for the entrepreneurs and as well as contribute to economic stability. The best part is you can enjoy negotiating your deals and get the best this festival season.
- Encourage your friends on Social Media
Celebrate the day by encouraging friends on social media via blog posts, pictures, or videos of all the nice deals you go from the local stores. Use hashtag #SmallBusinessSaturday to share on your social media pages.
If you are a small business owner you could:
- Get your website ready
As many supporters would like to shop with you, get your website prepped and mobile-friendly to find you easily and as well train your staff to handle customers beforehand.
- Extend your business hours
If you usually close early try extending your business hours to make more sales.
- Support other small businesses
Observe the day by celebrating other local businesses on social media to show your support. They might return the favor too.
- Share your shop’s story on social media
The great way to bond with customers is to share the story of your shop!
Interesting Facts About Small Business Saturday:
- UK followed its American counterpart and started Small Business Saturday UK in 2013
- The official hashtags for Small Business Saturday are #SmallBusinessSaturday and #SmallBizSat
- American Express in 2013 came up with the tagline “Shop Small” to advertise and promote Small Business throughout the year
- In 2014, interactive maps were available online for small business that accepted American Express cards
- In 2018, the Small Business Saturday saw tremendous support with nearly 104 million Americans shopping for $17.8 billion from small businesses
History Of Small Business Saturday:
The Day was first observed in the US on November 27th, 2010 to counter Cyber Monday and Black Friday. The day was founded by American Express along with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a non-profit organization.