WATCH: Local business owner shares why Small Business Saturday matters
What’s Small Business Saturday? Hear from a local business and the Small Business Administration about the new tradition.
Local businesses are gearing up for one of their most stressful yet essential days of the year.
Nov. 29 is known as Small Business Saturday and is an essential economic driver for mom-and-pop shops and small businesses across America.
“It’s one of our busier weekends,” said Victoria Shackelford, 28, consultant at Kitchen Emporium & Gifts in Anderson. “And with the holidays coming here, it’s more foot traffic from the lull that comes after the kids go back to school.”
It’s the beginning of the holiday shopping season, and an added source of necessary stress for local business owners.
“We see about 20-30 percent more business and foot traffic around this time of the year,” said Amelia Madden, store manager at Monkee’s of the West End. “But it’s great for us as a store and has kept this place in business for the past 20 years.”
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Small Business Saturday has generated more than $220 billion for privately-owned retailers since its inception nearly 15 years ago by American Express.
Since 2010, the longtime credit card company and SBA have partnered to promote the annual Saturday sales phenomenon, which aims to impact independent retailers, restaurants, and service-based businesses at the end of the year.
“We actually look forward to the holiday season because this is when, after nine months of not making a profit, you actually start to ‘turn black’,” said Veera Gaul, owner of Oil & Vinegar in downtown Greenville.
“That’s where the ‘Black Friday’ phrase comes from, where most small retailers start to turn a profit,” Gaul added.
It’s a season well worth the stress and even more reason to shop local.
“Small Business Saturday is framed between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which kicks off the holiday shopping season as it isolates a Saturday for people to think about their local small businesses,” said Ben Smith, director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Clemson Region.
“It’s a key date and mechanism for them to be on the radar a bit more. Businesses have to set themselves apart in the eyes of their customer and target market,” he added.
According to Smith, SBDC’s long-term advocacy data show that fewer than 30 percent of small businesses in the United States have survived to celebrate their 10th anniversary over the past 15 years.
“The campaign for SBA is to make folks aware of the importance of small businesses and what they mean to our community, and for people to give them a chance,” said Smith. “Small businesses are an essential part of our livelihoods.”
In South Carolina, Smith says that small businesses make up 42 percent of the private-sector workforce and offer a world of difference in quality and service compared to big-box businesses.
“For every dollar spent on small businesses, 67 cents stays within that community,” said Tyler Terbsa, southeast regional administrator for the U.S. SBA.
“When you shop with a small business, you have a direct community impact and are receiving expert knowledge and products as well.”
– A.J. Jackson covers business, the food & dining scene, and downtown culture for The Greenville News. Contact him by email at ajackson@gannett.com, and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @ajhappened. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.
