NEW YORK — After the crowds have shopped at large stores and sprawling malls on Black Friday, many smaller businesses are hoping Saturday will be their day.
Thousands of small stores, restaurants, spas — and even dry cleaners — across the U.S. will offer their own discounts and promotions to draw Christmas shoppers on what’s being called Small Business Saturday.
American Express created the day three years ago, it said, to help small businesses struggling during the recession. The credit- and charge-card company encourages cardholders who have registered in advance online to make purchases with their cards in exchange for a $25 rebate paid for by American Express, if they buy something at a participating business. American Express won’t say how much the promotion costs, but Susan Sobbott, president of American Express OPEN, the company’s small-business division, said it is a considerable amount.
But even small merchants who aren’t officially part of the event hope to get a bump in revenue during a weekend when they tend to be lost in an avalanche of deep discounts offered by big stores and online retailers. Perhaps more importantly, the day has become an opportunity for small businesses to build a corps of customers who will keep coming back year-round.
In Dixon, Ill., 51 small businesses have banded together to recruit local artists and performers to create a partylike atmosphere Saturday, and they’re also planning other events for the holiday season. A year ago, the combination of the American Express rebate and the events helped give the participating businesses a collective revenue increase of more than 50 percent on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, said Lisa Higby, owner of Distinctive Gardens, a nursery and garden center there.
“It gives us a year-long impact, much greater exposure for our business,” Higby said.
American Express may have intended to give small merchants — and card usage — a boost in a tough economy, but Small Business Saturday is also helping small merchants get a bigger share of the spotlight and spending between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, another shopping day dreamed up to get consumers excited about spending money online on the Monday after Thanksgiving. For some retailers, Black Friday sales account for a significant chunk of profit for the year. That hasn’t been so true for most small businesses.
“Black Friday doesn’t do anything for us,” said Leslie Leahy, owner of The Hitching Post, a gift shop in Reading, Mass.
To make the most of Small Business Saturday, many smallbusiness owners offer discounts as part of a marketing strategy for the entire Christmas shopping season. Leahy had good results last year. Revenue at The Hitching Post rose 28 percent on the Saturday after Thanksgiving a year ago from the same day in 2011.
Some small-business owners will have the kind of early bird specials that Black Friday is famous for.
Eden Organix, a spa in Highland Park, N.J., will give customers a 10 percent discount on the products it sells from 9 a.m. to noon, said owner Valerie Robinson who is promoting the event on Facebook, Twitter and on her own website. She doesn’t expect to get a big revenue boost from the day.
“We want to build more of a loyal customer base,” Robinson said.
Business, Pages 36 on 11/22/2012