Small Businesses have been referred to as the backbone of the United States time and time again. This sentiment is shouted from the rooftops every November prior to Small Business Saturday. I’m sure you have seen many ads for this pop up as you scroll recently. Consistently every year, the conversation of small business comes up in the weeks leading up to small business Saturday and then it dies. Now that Small Business Saturday has passed, I want to continue that discussion. Today I’ve got two articles on shopping small. One from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA.gov) on “Small Business Saturday & the Year-Round Impact of Shopping Small” and the other from Retail Touchpoints called “The Importance of Shopping Small”.

Impact of Small Business Saturday

Small Business Saturday is an amazing day that promotes shopping small, not just on that day, but all year round. According the the SBA, 66% of consumers support small businesses because of their contributions to their local communities and they’re absolutely right. They support local sports teams, scouting troops, schools, community centers… and the list goes on and on and on.

The article from the SBA suggest several ways you can support Small Businesses, even outside of Small Business Saturday. I’ve also added a few notes of my own:

  • Commit to making at least one purchase from a locally-owned small business retailer. Get to know the owner and make your gift more meaningful by sharing their story as part of what you gift your loved ones.
  • Travel outside your comfort zone and away from your computer screen to discover out of the ordinary local stores.
  • When you open gifts, start a conversation about which gifts came from the distinct sellers.
  • During the time of COVID, even shopping online can be done at the local level. Many local sellers can be found on shops like Etsy or have websites of their own.
  • Leave reviews for local sellers to encourage traffic to their website. Promote them the way that they promote their communities.

The Importance of Small Businesses

The second article is from 2018, but shows some great statistics and an amazing infographic for why small businesses are important both to the economy and in our communities. Here are some of the key stats they mention:

  • Small business pay 44% of the total US private payroll.
  • 89% of consumers said they believe small businesses contribute positively to their local communities.
  • Small businesses created 65% of the net new jobs created in the 17 year period ending in 2009.
  • 93% of consumers believe it’s important to support the local small businesses that they value in their community.
  • Independent retailers that are in communities with a “buy local” initiative reported revenue growth of 5.6% on average in 2010, compared to 2/1% for those elsewhere.
  • 78% of small businesses believe that there is a growing appreciation of shopping locally in the US.

Wrap It Up!

Small Business Saturday is an amazing opportunity to promote local businesses, but that doesn’t mean that the support has to end there. Small businesses support local communities and create valuable jobs to fuel the economy. So even though Small Business Saturday is over, let’s not forget about supporting our local businesses.

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