It’s the antithesis of Black Friday, a day when ultra big retailers open their doors late on Thanksgiving night and set off a frenzy of shopping touting super sales and once-a-year deals to jumpstart the holiday shopping season. If you decide to skip Black Friday or want a cure from the frenetic experience of marathon shopping, then you might want to consider heading out on November 30th for Small Business Saturday.
Ten years ago American Express launched a day to celebrate the small businesses of America and fit its own special shopping day between Black Friday and what is known as Cyber Monday, when people used to begin online shopping. They encouraged consumers to shop at local brick and mortar businesses. The mom and pop shops.
The idea became a hit and spread throughout the country adopted by business owners and even the government’s Small Business Association, garnering its own hashtag, #SmallBusinessSaturday.
American Express continues to promote the shopping holiday and offers a handy app on its website to help people find small businesses to patronize. Many retailers say that Small Business Saturday is important to help them through the holiday season, providing awareness of the need to shop small and exposure.
Photo: Licensed stock photo [Shutterstock]
Many Long Island towns and villages offer incentives to attract people to shop on Small Business Saturday:
- Patchogue Village’s chamber of commerce is offering free gifts and shopping bags to people who shop there that day
- Babylon Village has a similar event
- Port Washington is hosting Port Holiday Magic on Small Business Saturday
- Long Beach’s 4th annual window decorating contest for its local businesses kicks off
Check with local Chambers or use the American Express app to find Long Island retailers to shop at on Saturday, November 30th to support small business.
