PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Black Friday is almost over, but that doesn’t mean holiday shopping is done.
As KDKA-TV money editor Jon Delano reports, Small Business Saturday may be overtaking Black Friday as a big spending day for American consumers.
Shop small is the message, and last year, nearly $18 billion was spent at smaller mom-and-pop stores in the neighborhood on the last Saturday in November, now called Small Business Saturday.
“Here locally, we have about 350,000 small businesses that are supporting our local economy, and they’re very important,” according to Dr. Kelly Hunt, District Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Dr. Hunt is the District Director of the Small Business Administration, which has partnered with American Express to promote Small Business Saturday. She says it makes good economic sense to shop small.
“They’re the ones that are giving back to our community. They’re the ones when you spend your money on a local small business; that money is staying in your community. You rarely see your son’s or daughter’s little league team or basketball team with a logo on their shirt that belongs to a big box company.”
Shopping at neighborhood independent stores, as opposed to the big retail chains, keeps your dollars in town, and Small Business Saturday is make or break for some, says Hunt.
“Over 70% of small businesses say that Small Business Saturday is that breaking point for them where they actually turn that year into profitable.”
With 33 million small businesses operating in almost every facet of the American economy, it’s not hard to satisfy your holiday shopping needs by shopping small.
Hunt says whether a small business puts up a shop small sign or not, they need your patronage.
“Small Business Saturday is for all small businesses. We want to support all local small businesses on Small Business Saturday, regardless of if they have a blue and white American Express sign or not,” Hunt said.
And now, of course, you can usually shop online at many local neighborhood stores.
One survey found that over this weekend, more Americans will shop on Saturday than Friday. As for shopping small, it’s the younger folks—millennials and Gen Z’ers—who are most likely to take part in Small Business Saturday.
