Ed. note: The following article was originally published in November of 2014. We at The Independent felt it was a good reminder.
Like many American consumers, it’s possible you’ve ventured out at risk of life and limb to take advantage of Black Friday sales at major retailers. Or maybe the combination of post-turkey day exhaustion, plus the plethora of videos you’ve seen featuring rampaging hordes brawling for holiday bargains has been enough to keep you safe at home in your slippers.
However, if you are looking for a holiday shopping opportunity that is a little less “crazy and corporate” and a little more “ma and pa,” Small Business Saturday, taking place this year on Nov. 29, might be more your style, and will help the local southern Utah economy to boot.
Ironically, the less-commercial alternative shopping holiday was originally conceived by American Express in 2010 as a partner to the popular Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Although American Express is a large corporation, the move demonstrated an understanding of how smaller retailers struggle to compete with the big-box behemoths during the holiday season.
As part of the original effort in 2010, American Express purchased online Facebook ads for small-merchant account holders and offered rebates to new customers if they promoted the event. Currently, American Express hosts a website where local retailers can promote their businesses. Customers can also “join the movement” by suggesting a local business to be featured or simply pledging to attend via a shared Facebook or Twitter message.
While we’re on the topic of Facebook, one meme has made the rounds regarding the importance of supporting local businesses. It addresses how much a community can benefit if each person spent just $100 a year locally, be it at restaurants, art galleries, or retailers. That’s just $8.33 per month. Kristy Goodrich, owner of JK Jewelers, a locally-owned St. George business for 17 years, did the math in relation to Washington County. She says if each of the 98,000 adult consumers took on that challenge, it would create an additional $9.8 million spread throughout the community.
“These are the people who employ your friends, who sponsor your local school’s sports team, and who sponsor our local charities,” Goodrich said. “The trickle-down effect on a local level is a huge benefit to the quality of life in a place like this.”
Altruistic reasons aside, many people want to know what’s in it for them, in the immediate sense. Goodrich said it comes down to customer service and quality. When she goes to gemstone markets looking for the raw materials to create their jewelry, she has local customers in mind.
“I know their names,” Goodrich said. “I know who they buy for at Christmas, what they want for their anniversary, and most importantly, what makes them giddy.”
Goodrich said Small Business Saturday is especially beneficial for local shops because it comes after the two slowest months of the year, but just before their busiest time.
“We do thirty percent of our [annual] business in the month of December,” Goodrich said. “The tricky part is most small businesses don’t have the money they need to make those December sales happen until the very last minute.”
The Wizz, an alternative-gift store that has been serving Cedar City for 24 years, is a little funkier than the formal JK Jewelers. However, owner Sally Hunter expressed similar sentiments to Goodrich.
“We struggle trying to get stocked for the holidays,” Hunter said. “[Small Business Saturday] gets people in earlier in the season so we can pay our bills and make more customers happy as well.”
Hunter said small businesses have a harder time competing with larger corporations in general, but she says it’s the little practices that matter to customers.
“We special order for people,” Hunter said. “We have that extra little touch. Yet we get paid the least amount of money. As small business owners, I think we have accepted that fact, but it certainly helps when we have a day created for us.”
JK Jewelers and The Wizz are just two businesses participating in Small Business Saturday, both offering special holiday shopping deals. JK Jewelers even plans on giving a percentage of their Friday and Saturday sales to the local Habitat for Humanity. If you want to know if your favorite store will also be open and offering special deals, make sure to call them and let them know you hope to be there to support them.
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