Small Business Saturday a smashing success
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Local shoppers were out in force on Small Business Saturday.
Cyber Monday might be a big hit, ordering merchandise from the comfort of your living room, but according to the survey released by the National Federation of Independent Business, more shoppers reported visiting their local independent businesses on Small Business Saturday than ever before.
The Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey, released by the National Federation of Independent Business and American Express (NFIB), local businesses across the country hit record highs with 72 percent of U.S. consumers aware of the day. More shoppers reported visiting local independent businesses on Small Business Saturday this year than ever before. This year, an estimated 112 million consumers reported shopping at small businesses on Small Business Saturday, marking a 13 percent increase from 2015.
“It’s exciting for us to see the record number of consumers who came out in support of independently-owned businesses on Small Business Saturday,” said Elizabeth Rutledge, executive vice president of Global Advertising and Media at American Express. “People across the country are aware of the benefits that small businesses can bring to the community, and the momentum that was started seven years ago with the first Small Business Saturday continues to build.”
This year Small Business Saturday saw record levels of support from communities and local organizations. More than 6,700 Neighborhood Champions around the country rallied local businesses — an increase of 63 percent over last year. And more than 480 organizations joined the Small Business Saturday Coalition — an increase of 13 percent over last year.
“We had a lot of people that had never been in the store before, so that was wonderful. We were able to make a good impression with the people that were just looking. They said they would be back, so, hopefully, we made some new customers,” said Red Door Cafe owner Jan Thacker. “It was busy downtown on Saturday. It was nice to see all the people going from store to store. Actually all three days (Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday) were all good.”
According to the Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey, total spending among U.S. consumers who were aware of Small Business Saturday reached $16.2 billion at independent retailers and restaurants on the day, an increase of 14 percent from $14.3 billion in 2014, the survey said.
Among those who shopped on Small Business Saturday, 31 percent attended a community event on the day and 81 percent encouraged family and friends to support their local small businesses.
The social media was all a-Twitter. The survey also said consumers and small businesses helped support Small Business Saturday and their favorite small businesses on social media channels. In the month of November, there were 85 million social media engagements in support of Small Business Saturday.
“Small businesses across the nation are often run by the friends, family, and neighbors that we know well, so supporting them is not only personal but critical to their success,” said NFIB CEO and President Juanita Duggan. “Partnering with American Express to promote the awareness and importance of shopping small is something we are very proud of, and look forward to continuing the success of Small Business Saturday.”
The Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey was conducted among a nationally representative sample of 2,363 males and females 18 years of age or older. The sample was collected using an email invitation and an online survey. The study was conducted anonymously by independent marketing performance specialist Ebiquity on Nov. 29, 2015. The survey has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 2.0 percent, at the 95 percent level of confidence.
The Columbia Basin party will continue in Downtown Moses Lake. On Friday, the 22nd annual Ag Appreciation Parade and Street Party is expected to ring in the holiday season with a bang. The annual event rallies to support the Columbia Basin agricultural community and turns Third Avenue into a regular street party.
“The parade on Friday is big, which means Saturday is a really big sales day for us, because there are so many people downtown,” Thacker said. “We formed a Downtown Merchant’s Association. It’s just us downtown business people and we get together once a month to talk strategy on how we can bring more people downtown. We talk about different things, anywhere from the graffiti problems to promoting each other’s businesses.”
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