The holiday season can be generally good for small businesses thanks to so many people looking for gifts. Over the past few years, though, a new mini-shopping holiday, Small Business Saturday, has sprung up to counter the extravaganzas of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It shows the growing importance of shopping locally more than anything else, and there's an opportunity for businesses to build off of this momentum to further attract more customers.
On Nov. 22, the Tuesday before the event itself, Cleveland.com quoted the district director of the Small Business Administration, Gil Goldberg, regarding the enthusiasm leading up to the event. Goldberg was in Lakewood in Cuyahoga County to promote it the day before it came up.
"We were in Lakewood to highlight Small Business Saturday, which comes after Black Friday and before Cyber Monday, because we want to encourage people to shop small this coming Saturday," Goldberg said. "But we could have been in any town, city or village in Northern Ohio to illustrate the support that merchants in the community provide."
Several days later, The Columbus Dispatch reported that the Buckeye State's stores faced unique factors when it came to possible customers. According to this source, both the local Ohio State-Michigan football game and cold weather were concerns dictating whether or not people would put effort into venturing out to make a purchase.
"Small Business Saturday has seen an increase in awareness."
On the other hand, the day has also seen an increase in awareness, with 95 million shopping on it in celebration during 2015. This makes it a perfect way for business owners to improve their local brand awareness and focus on sales in the days leading up to the important holiday rush.
The aftermath
Not surprisingly, the results seem to show high nationwide turnout. A survey jointly sponsored by American Express and the National Federation of Independent Business stated that around 112 million shoppers across the U.S. took advantage of the holiday to frequent small businesses.
Coincidentally, there was a 13 percent increase in both the number of organizations joining the official Small Business Saturday Coalition and the amount of consumers who actually went to a small business on the day itself.
Next steps
Building off of any positive momentum businesses have seen during this holiday could require reliable capital. A recent Forbes piece suggested "community" as the best way to boost sales and awareness. That can translate into a need for building renovations, more equipment and other important renovations a business may have held off on.
Growth Capital can offer resources like the SBA 504 loan program for businesses that need commercial business loans. Contact us today our register with our mailing list.
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