In 2010, at the height of the Great Recession, American Express launched the Small Business Saturday holiday to redirect holiday shopping to local stores. A little over a decade later, it’s observed in all 50 states. According to American Express, U.S. shoppers spent over $20 billion on Small Business Saturday in 2021, and in the years before that, consumers spent cumulatively over $100 billion on this shopping holiday.
Currently, 33.2 million small businesses operate in the U.S., and over the past 25 years, they have been responsible for adding two out of every three jobs to the economy.
Small Business Saturday falls on November 26 this year. Here are a few ways retailers can position themselves for a successful holiday:
- Get free marketing materials and exposure from American Express
- American Express offers free marketing materials, including posters, emails, and social media posts. Small businesses can add themselves to AmEx’s “Shop Small” map and join a national directory of other participating businesses.
- Launch social media and email marketing campaigns
- Businesses can use hashtags like #SmallBusinessSaturday and #ShopSmall and tag American Express’s @shopsmall social media accounts to get noticed online.
- Update and optimize your small business website
- Every business, especially those with e-commerce operations, should ensure their websites are up-to-date and mobile-friendly before Small Business Saturday. Reaching consumers online has been key to business success in 2022 and will continue to be throughout this holiday season and beyond.
