Families barely have time anymore to carve the turkey before Black Friday sales, now often starting Thursday, launch at big box retailers.
Promises of deep price cuts lure millions of shoppers every year to inch around parking lots yearning for a parking spot only to wade into a sea of people swarming the aisles in malls and retailers across the country.
Fortunately, there is another way to find the right gift for loved ones this holiday season.
It’s called Small Business Saturday.
Many Wyoming Main Street communities are using the annual shopping holiday as a springboard this Nov. 28 for events and winter activities meant to encourage people to shop local.
In Wyoming, Buffalo is celebrating the day with a fireworks display, while Rawlins is tying in social media with a “selfie” photo contest. Cheyenne, Laramie and Glenrock are offering retailers a chance to display their wares at local community buildings. Thermopolis shoppers will compete in a scavenger hunt while enjoying special menus and discount prices, and Rock Springs is holding a mini-concert and free carriage rides.
“This is a good reminder to people,” said Deb Farris, deputy director for the federal Small Business Administration’s Wyoming District Office. “Sometimes people don’t know what’s in their downtown area. This is an opportunity for them to find out some of the unique things they can buy for someone to make the holiday really special.”
Credit card company American Express launched Small Business Saturday in 2010 in support of small businesses that rarely boast the advertising muscle of the big box stores. The company provides free promotional materials and advice on how to market the event.
“It’s about supporting the many small retail businesses and their employees who support your community,” said Linda Klinck, Main Street program manager for the Wyoming Business Council “Buying holiday items from local merchants is necessary to keep their doors open.”
She added that the shopping experience on Main Street is about relaxing and enjoying yourself.
The Business Council administers the Wyoming Main Street program.
Statistics from the National Federation of Independent Businesses show 70 cents of every dollar spent in a locally-owned store stay in the community, while only 40 cents of every dollar spent at a big box retailer remain local. Other national studies hover in the same range.
Of the 33,760 businesses in Wyoming, 90.8 percent employ fewer than 20 people. Nearly 62 percent of companies employ fewer than five people.
And because nearly 60 percent of businesses are in the retail or service industries, supporting small business in Wyoming has an even greater affect than elsewhere in the nation.
“Small business is truly the engine that drives this nation’s economy,” said Tony Gagliardi, Wyoming director for the National Federation of Independent Business.
Small business shopping boosts the local economy, but it can also mean a better experience for shoppers.
Shopping on Main Street is all about enjoying the crafted window displays and walking into stores where you know the owner, Farris explained.
“Small downtown shops give a town its identity,” Farris said. “And since those merchants are your neighbors, they work that much harder to deliver better service and better products.”
Source: The Wyoming Business Council.
