American Shoppers Boost Small Business Saturday

Every year, Black Friday gets a strong share of the headlines, whether they’re based on shattered sales records or the behavior of deal-crazed shoppers. This year, however, another annual shopping trend got a little more attention: Small Business Saturday. For small and local businesses, this new tradition presents some valuable opportunities.

A Record Number Of Small Business Shoppers

This most recent Small Business Saturday was reported to be a record-breaker, with an estimated 112 million shoppers visiting their local, small business retailers and eateries. While this trend didn’t start as any sort of grassroots movement—having been launched as an American Express campaign in 2010—it’s clear that Americans are eager to invest in their neighbors. Locally owned shops and restaurants enjoyed their own holiday rush this past November 26 and in larger numbers than the previous year, amounting to a 13 precent increase over 2015’s Small Business Saturday. Image Source: Small Business Trends

Room For Business Growth And Consumer Awareness

According to an online poll from Small Business Trends, 68% of respondents said their Small Business Saturday results were either “good” or “great”, 22% claimed they were just “so-so”, and 10% described the day as “disappointing” or “horrible”. There are reasons to look ahead and start thinking about opportunities for next year, as consumer awareness of Small Business Saturday grew from 70 to 72% according to the Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey conducted by the NFIB and American Express. These numbers show there is plenty of potential to tap and still room for growth through increased consumer awareness.

A Chance to Compete And Reason To Market

Small Business Saturday as a trend benefits local businesses by creating a unique marketing opportunity that can help them compete, even as big box stores offer door-busters the day before. While local establishments can enjoy additional profits from the trend without doing any additional marketing, those that take the time to promote and offer incentives to those who come out to support them are likely to see growing returns--not only for one day or during the holiday shopping season, but throughout the year. Did you see a greater number of shoppers during Small Business Saturday? Did you see more online sales from Cyber Monday? Have you started thinking about how you’ll embrace these shopping trends next year? Comment and share your experience.

American Shoppers Boost Small Business Saturday was originally published to MAGODA LLC