Brands & Consumers Need to Support Local Retailers on Small Business Saturday and Beyond
Small Business Saturday is on November 28! Now entering its sixth year, Small Business Saturday has become as much about supporting small, local business as it is about supporting local economies and communities – and, in essence, the US economy as a whole.
Here at Promoboxx, we believe in independent retailers, and while Small Business Saturday has lent local retail a crucial focus, we need to ensure that independent retailers are succeeding and thriving all year long. Read on to learn how and why both brands and consumers should support local retailers on Small Business Saturday and beyond.
Small Business Saturday’s Impact on Local Economies
Small Business Saturday has proven to be not only the local feel-good alternative to the mob scene of the big box-driven Black Friday, but also a major boost to local businesses, economies and communities. How major? Just check out these undeniable stats:
88 million consumers “shopped small” on the day in 2014, as reported by NFIB and American Express (14.9% more consumers going into small businesses than the year before)
$14.3 billion was spent at independent retail stores and restaurants on the day last year
For every $100 spent at a locally-owned business, $45 continues to circulate within the community, compared to $13 from a non-local business (and that is a conservative estimate – others point to as much as $85 staying local)
3 Reasons Why Everyone Should Shop Local (and Not Just on November 28)
Here’s why consumers need to #BelieveInRetailers and choose to #ShopLocal on Small Business Saturday (and every other day of the year):
What’s Spent Here, Stays Here – Locally-owned businesses spend their profits locally, purchase more goods from local suppliers, and employ their own office and support staff. When more money gets re-circulated in the community, it creates a more vibrant and sustainable economy. #ShopLocal and vote for your community.
Vote for Local Culture – Having a wide variety of locally-owned businesses contributes to a stronger local identity and cultural diversity, creating an attractive place to live and visit. Show your pride in what makes your neighborhood, town or city unique.
Lead by Example – Strengthening our locally-owned business community promotes authentic and meaningful relationships between employees, business owners, customers, suppliers and neighbors. Local business owners who live in town take better care of the environment, participate in public life, and donate generously to local charities. Lead by showing that you care about your local causes, too.
3 Ways Brands Can Support Their Local Retailers on Small Business Saturday
The Promoboxx team reached out to some of the nearly 10,000 retailers using our digital marketing platform to hear what brands can do for them around Small Business Saturday. Here’s what retailers are asking for:
Help retailers balance offline with digital: The retailers who participated in our survey shared that they are balancing offline tactics with a heavier emphasis on digital marketing. Aside from hosting special in-store events, retailers plan to spend dollars on Facebook marketing, email campaigns and web specials. Brands can help their local retailers by providing them with easy-to-use, brand-quality assets for retailers to leverage across their social channels, email campaigns and websites.
Offer Facebook digital co-op support: Facebook marketing is at the top of the local retailer list, as it has proven to be the most effective digital strategy for driving in-store traffic, followed by email marketing and paid search campaigns via Google Adwords.
Source: Promoboxx Independent Retailer Survey, November 2015
This is good news for local retailers and brands – 57% of Small Business Saturday shoppers share goodexperiences on social media, according to AudienceScan. Brands can help their local retailers by providing them with Facebook co-op dollars to bring more traffic into the local stores.
Provide in-store support: Retailers also count on brands to provide them with in-store merchandising and in-store-only offers, along with advice on hot holiday gift items. As one local retailer shared: “Customers spend so much time on the internet and reading product reviews, it becomes difficult for us to stay up-to-date with it all and correctly identify what the “hot” products are.” Partnering with your retailers on what works, and equipping them with in-store merchandise and offers can help local retailers close the #ShopSmall loop on November 28.
Promoboxx is built upon our belief in the immensely positive impact that independent retailers have on our local communities, economies and the US as a whole. To keep our local economies booming and flourishing past Small Business Saturday, consumers can continue to #ShopSmall, while brands must step in and provide their independent retailers with digital marketing support. #BelieveInRetailers
