Downtown Perry shops prep for 5th annual Small Business Saturday with deals and new inventory, drawing crowds to support local businesses.
PERRY, Ga. — If you were among the thousands of shoppers out deal hunting on Black Friday, don’t put your wallet away just yet. Perry is geared up to showcase local shopping magic on Saturday with Small Business Saturday!
The event, now in its fifth year, is a town tradition people wait all year for.
Tabitha Arzola opened her downtown boutique, The Bold Kind, in March. She said she has been preparing for Small Business Saturday for weeks.
“We’ve got some bins, $15, $5 bins, as well as just a lot more inventory. I wanted to make sure that I had enough stuff for everybody,” Arzola said.
As a new owner, Arzola is excited to see what this event does for the community and her business.
“It means a lot to me that they put an emphasis on the small businesses and how that does provide for the community, and I think the community does always show up,” Arzola said.
Joy Colwell has owned her store, Initial Reaction, for 15 years. She said the turnout gets bigger each year.
“There’s been an absolute growth. We see so many people there’s just not a way to um to say how many people, but it’s a lot of people,” Colwell said.
Colwell said events like this are so important to keep local businesses thriving.
“It makes a bigger difference than anybody knows. So if you are shopping local, you’re not only helping the store owner, but we also are paying our employees,” Colwell said.
Colwell said every dollar spent locally benefits the entire community. Forbes magazine agrees, noting that 68% of each dollar spent at local businesses remains in that community.
Small Business Saturday runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, with a tree lighting at 6 p.m. on the City Hall lawn to wrap up the day.
