DICKINSON — Since 2010, shoppers have been encouraged to “shop small” across the United States on what’s become known as Small Business Saturday. In downtown Dickinson, several small business owners are offering a variety of sale prices, refreshments and special offers to make each customer’s shopping experience even more festive.
Studio 9 Designs, which recently moved to a central downtown location from their former storefront on Villard is offering mimosas and iced sugar cookies to visitors, and in honor of the store’s ninth anniversary — 29% off all Christmas decor, furniture and wall hangings.
Faithful Blend, which offers a community meeting table plus a robust menu of custom lattes and other beverages made with Dark Canyon coffee, has partnered with ND Construction to offer a drawing for a $100 gift card.
Nearby, the motto of newly-opened 701 Chic Boutique, “Confident. Curvy. Chic,” describes their selection of elegant, upscale clothing for women, along with gifts and other creative items. Business owner Liz is offering each visitor a gift bag along with coupons for January purchases.
RubyAnn Stiegelmeier / The Dickinson Press
Across the street, Saucy Blonde Boutique is offering a ‘buy one, get one 30% off’ special.’
While these aren’t the only perks shoppers can receive this weekend, small businesses aren’t the only option in Dickinson this year for deal-seekers and would-be gift givers. Business competition for local shopping dollars looks a little different this year, with not one, but two major retailers having opened their doors in Dickinson in recent months.
Traffic data indicates high numbers visits to at least one of those retailers.
At their most recent board meeting, Stark Development Corporation (SDC) reported that the tracking system they use indicated a spike in unique visitors to the recently-opened TJ Maxx storefront. Next door, Harbor Freight has topped 130,000 visitors since opening, according to SDC.
With more options than ever, local shoppers may or may not be influenced by statistics on the economic effect of ‘Small Business Saturday,’ which were published earlier this week by the Small Business Administration (SBA).
SBA reported that the 36 million small businesses across the country account for 99% of all businesses in the United States. SBA also reported the results of a Small Business Owner (SBO) survey done by Teneo on behalf of American Express that indicates that up to 20% of a business owner’s annual revenue might come from Small Business Saturday alone.
Regardless, Small Business Saturday is anything but small. According to SBA, the estimated national spending at local merchants in 2024 on Small Business Saturday alone was $22 billion.
RubyAnn Stiegelmeier / The Dickinson Press
