Mary Sisson, owner of Vancouver-based Kazoodles Kid-powered Toys, said Small Business Saturday is definitely gaining a lot of traction with people. The fact that shoppers are becoming increasingly tired of Black Friday doesn’t hurt either, she added.
“There has been a huge reaction to the big box stores choosing to open on Thanksgiving Day, which should be a family time,” said Sisson. “I’ve seen a lot of people posting online about boycotting some of those stores on Black Friday because of that.”
Sisson is one of many small business owners around the country taking advantage of free resources that are being offered on www.shopsmall.com to help promote Small Business Saturday. For example, American Express is offering merchants free downloadable marketing materials, online banners and logos, and physical signage that can be professionally printed at FedEx for no cost.
Becky Milner, owner Vintage Books in Vancouver, said she plans on giving customers an experience on Small Business Saturday that they can’t get from a national retailer on Black Friday.
“We’re having five local authors come in for a book signing,” she said. “We’re inviting customers to go around and meet each author, then fill out a card that will go into a drawing.
“The local shops aren’t going to do the big early push and all the heavy sales,” Milner added. “For us, it’s really about just staying in touch with our customers.”
Small Business Saturday has helped get the “buy local” message out to the public, said Lynn Krogseng, owner of Vancouver-based Neighbors Markets. However, she noted, there is still work to do.
“The next phase is to get more people buying locally from people sourcing locally. If they go to Safeway and buy local food it’s not quite the same as if they come here or to the co-op,” she said. “But I think we’re making headway as far as people thinking local.”
