Shop Small this Saturday!
This week is a big one for businesses across the country as they brace for the infamous ‘Black Friday.’ Black Friday is the day following the American holiday of Thanksgiving, and is often considered the biggest holiday shopping day of the year.
But if you’re worried about the environmental and social effects of this type of mad-dash shopping, you’re probably more likely to celebrate my favorite yearly holiday, Buy Nothing Day!
Created as a protest against Black Friday, Buy Nothing Day encourages consumers to think about their purchasing habits, and acknowledge that we probably do not need to purchase the zillions of things that are on sale.
And the sales are crazy: Black Friday was previously just, you know, Friday. But in recent years stores have been starting their sales early, sometimes on Thanksgiving day itself. I think this makes for an unhappy holiday for the workers that need to work on this day (hopefully they at least get overtime pay?).
But… if you’re not quite ready to buy nothing at all this holiday season, you can celebrate another way with Small Business Saturday.
This program, initiated a few years ago by American Express, encourages shoppers to do their holiday shopping this weekend at small businesses and local stores rather than ‘big box’ stores.
I wrote about the power of shopping small last year at Care2, and below are the key takeaways, but you can click on the full article here to learn more:
Shopping Small Keeps Money in the community
Money spent in your community stays in the community: for every $100 you spend at locally owned businesses, $68 will stay in the community, compared to $43 staying if you shop at big box stores.
Local Business Support Local Jobs!
“A study reported by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance shows that across over 3,000 US counties, the opening of a Wal-Mart store led to a net loss of 150 retail jobs on average, suggesting that a new Wal-Mart job replaces approximately 1.4 workers at other stores.”
Share the love of what makes your community unique by Shopping Small
Sharing the artisanal food, handiwork, products, clothing and other items from local purveyors shows off your community’s unique character to the world and helps build a network for a stronger small business community and MORE community businesses.
Shopping Small encourages Innovation
Your local community is likely full of creative business folks, and showing your support for their work encourages others to pursue their small business passion too!
Related: The 5 Reasons to Shop Small Everyday
Learn more about the Shop Small movement and get marketing materials for your small business here:
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US Small Business Administration Small Business Saturday initiative
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