By Acadia Otlowski
Sandwiched between the large-scale, department store sponsored Black Friday and the website-centric “Cyber Monday” is Small Business Saturday, perhaps one of the most honorable of the capitalistic feeding frenzies in the weekend following Thanksgiving.
Surprisingly, the newer shopping day is the brain child of American Express, which offers customers $30 cashback when they spend their money at small business on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
While it may seem like just another corporate ploy to get customers to needlessly part with their money, Small Business Saturday supports to concept of shopping small and buying local, two things that support the economy in a much more substantial ways than shopping at the big names.
Shopping local and shopping small keep the money you spend in the community. Studies show that money spent at local businesses tends to be spent at other small businesses in the area.
While Small Business Saturday has only been in existence since 2010, the concept of shopping local has been around since the 1970’s and has been gaining in popularity ever since.
With the advent of the internet, it has become easier to support small businesses. Websites such as Etsy thrive on these ventures, Etsy partnered with American Express OPEN this year for the Shop Small movement.
Not only does shopping small keep money local, small businesses are important job providers. Small businesses account for 55 percent of all jobs and account for 54 percent of all sales in America.
Supporting small business supports the economy. But it isn’t just that. By supporting small businesses, consumers support the little guy.
Instead of supporting some rich CEO, you are supporting a person who works hard to create unique artisan projects.
There’s something more satisfying about imagining an artist who gets excited every time they make a sale than giving your money to a faceless corporation.
In 2013, consumers spent approximately $5.7 billion at independent merchants, which is up 3.6 percent from 2012.
And while Small Business Saturday is nowhere near as popular as Black Friday, which grossed at an estimated $89 million in 2012, it is making significant gains.
Experts estimate that the 2014 Small Business Saturday outsold the previous years and that it will continue to keep growing.
The choice is yours. Do you want to buy cheap, plastic, mass-produced products made in sweat shops overseas? Or do you want to buy something from an artisan? You pay them for their time and energy. The products may be a little more expensive but they are usually a higher quality.
My favorite part about buying from a small shop is how personal the experience is. Usually you get a handwritten note thanking you for your purchase. You can’t say that about your purchase from Walmart.
This Christmas, get your loved ones something made with care. Shop local and shop small.