Small Business Saturday: Hear Them Ring!

Linda Maxwell, The Maxwell House, Dandridge, TN
Staff Photo by Jeff Depew

Though the numbers for Small Business Saturday 2014 will not be available for several days, the predictions and expectation for the November 29th shopping event were for another year of increased volume for small business owners. The trend for the past two years has been toward an increase in consumers that participate in Small Business Saturday and that trend is expected to continue for 2014. Over the past two years, research has pointed to a year over year increase of $200 million dollars on Small Business Saturday. This year, though some experts expect the overall holiday spending to be slightly less than last year, the expectation is that small business will get a larger slice of the consumer pie.

With the increased activity of on line shopping, competition for face to face business has become fierce. Those small businesses that have a strong on line presence have a leg up on the competition, according to researchers, and those consumers that are walking into stores are looking for something extra this year. 2014 could mark the return of the “experience” shopping, which had largely gone by the wayside with big box retail. Many consumers looking to shop in bulk are going online but when they do venture out into stores they want a more personal experience, which is good news for the small business owner.

Small Business owners are employing technology to reach consumers and it appears to be working. Experts are predicting that twitter exchanges about Small Business Saturday will increase 65% this year to more that one half a million tweets. While spreading the word is great, small business owners know that walking in their door is even better for them and the community. According to a Civics Economic Study, $68 of every $100 spent in a small business stay in the local economy, as opposed to $43 of every $100 spent with a big box business. Small Business owners also donate 250% more to non profits and community based projects than their big box brothers (Seattle Good Business Network). The Small Business Saturday Movement has enjoyed significant growth since its inception and it has gone a long way toward achieving American Express’ goal of promoting the mom and pop businesses and reinforcing the retail base the United States.