How Much Money Stays in the Local Community This Small Business Saturday?
Cary, NC – As a counter to Black Friday and even Cyber Monday sales, Small Business Saturday has for the past seven years been an impetus for shoppers to go and support their local businesses when looking for holiday gifts. With another Small Business Saturday right around the corner, you may be surprised to learn just how much money spent on local small businesses stays in the community.
Supporting the Community
The concept of Small Business Saturday started as a public relations campaign by credit card company American Express in 2010 and more businesses and municipalities have taken it up since then, with Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht declaring this upcoming Saturday, November 24, 2018 as Small Business Saturday. As the first Saturday between Thanksgiving and Christmas, many small and locally owned businesses will typically have sales and deals, and the Cary Chamber of Commerce is compiling a list of these participating businesses in town now.
A new study, commissioned by American Express, finds patronizing local businesses can benefit the entire community as well as the businesses themselves. 67 percent of money spent at a local business stays within the community. Going into the numbers even deeper, 23 percent of the money spent gets reinvested in other area businesses.
This study also suggests support of small businesses can help bolster job growth throughout a community. For every ten jobs at a small business, the study says, seven other jobs are supported elsewhere in the community.
Popularity of Small Businesses
In addition to quantifying the economic impacts of spending money at small businesses, the study also surveyed people about their feelings on small businesses and Small Business Saturday in general.
With online shopping growing in popularity – last year, Cyber Monday is estimated to have generated $6.6 billion in sales compared to Black Friday’s $5 billion – people are still using their online tools to shop locally. 65 percent of the survey respondent said they look for local businesses when shopping online and 40 percent said they will order from local businesses on Cyber Monday.
When asked where people planned to shop on Small Business Saturday, most respondents said they would shop at a bakery or clothing/shoe store (40 percent) while around a third answered yes to things such as bookstores, restaurants and general gift and novelty stores.
Small Business Saturday is this Saturday, November 24, 2018.
Story by staff reports. Photos by Hal Goodtree.
