Small Business Saturday has only been around for eight years, but the initiative is already raking in big money in the U.S.
Some 67 million Americans are planning to shop on Small Business Saturday, according to a report from the National Retail Federation and consumer data company Prosper Insights & Analytics.
If recent years are anything to go by, the initiative is proving to be a big boon for small businesses.
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Small Business Saturday was launched by American Express in 2010 as a means of encouraging customers to support small businesses in the aftermath of the recession.
The following year, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the holiday, as businesses across the U.S. flocked to take advantage of the movement.
The initiative was enthusiastically promoted by the administration of former U.S. president Barack Obama.
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“From the mom-and-pop storefront shops that anchor Main Street to the high-tech startups that keep America on the cutting edge, small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the cornerstones of our Nation’s promise,” the White House said in a statement in 2011.
“Through events such as Small Business Saturday, we keep our local economies strong and help maintain an American economy that can compete and win in the 21st century.”
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The Trump administration has followed suit, urging Americans to support local businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
The initiative appears to have struck a chord with American shoppers.
Forty-one per cent of Thanksgiving weekend shoppers surveyed by the National Retail Federation said they would be making time to shop on Small Business Saturday. A majority of them said they would do so specifically to support small businesses.
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Between 2010 and 2017, Small Business Saturday spending was estimated at $85 billion, according to American Express surveys. That’s an average of over $10 billion per day over the eight days.
There are over 30 million small businesses — defined as having 500 employees or less — in the U.S., according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
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