People are shopping local and small! This year we saw a national slowdown in Black Friday sales for major chain retailers — but not for small businesses.
According to Forbes, “A report from the the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and American Express – the Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey – revealed that 88 million consumers “shopped small” on the day, up 14.9 percent from just a year ago. According to the survey, more than two-thirds of the U.S. population were aware of Small Business Saturday (67%). Additionally, of the U.S. consumers who were aware of Small Business Saturday, a reported $14.3 billion was spent with independent retailers and restaurants on the day – an increase of 2.1 percent from $14 billion in 2013.”
The shop independent and small business and shop local movements are continuing to thrive, and people are beginning to show a new desire to keep their money in the cities, towns, and neighborhoods where they live. We already saw that small businesses are driving U.S. economic growth this year. Let’s keep working together to make 2015 a bright, strong year for small businesses and the communities they’re in.