It’s that time of the year again when American Express shines a light on small businesses nationwide. November 26, 2022, is Shop Small Saturday and the perfect opportunity to ask your clients to support your local business.
The Significance of the Day
The Shop Small movement was founded in 2010 by American Express and gained popularity thanks to massive participation with Small Business Saturday – a national holiday shopping tradition dedicated to celebrating small businesses. The event drives more customers through the doors of small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving – one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
According to the 2021 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey commissioned by American Express projected spending among U.S. consumers who shopped at independent businesses on Small Business Saturday reached an estimated $23.3 billion in 2021, up 18% from $19.8 billion in 2020 and an increase from pre-pandemic spending of $19.6 billion in 2019. From 2010 to 2021, consumers reported spending an estimated $163 billion at small businesses on Small Business Saturday.
In the 2021 survey, 79% of consumers admitted they understood the importance of supporting the small businesses in their community on Small Business Saturday, and 66% reported that the day makes them want to Shop Small all year. In addition, the survey revealed that shopping through eCommerce was up slightly on Small Business Saturday, with 58% of shoppers making a purchase online in 2021, compared to 56% in 2020 and 43% in 2019.
Encourage Clients to Support Shop Small Saturday
So, what have we learned from the success of Shop Small Saturday? Local communities want to help support their hometown businesses and are willing to step up when given the opportunity. That’s why it’s essential to let your clients know about Shop Small Saturday and what their support means to small businesses like yours.
Big Ideas for Shopping Small
Create incentives to get clients in your door for products and services, shopping online, and purchasing gift cards for all their gift-giving needs. Here are some great ways to encourage support, whether your clients stop by to spend or shop while snuggled up on their couches, all cozy in their PJs.
- Make Shop Small Saturday a special event in your salon. Create an atmosphere of celebration with easy ways for clients to spend. Give anyone in the salon that day the extra special treatment: think mimosas in the morning, snacks throughout the day, and the opportunity to sip sangria at sunset. Pull out all the stops with festive streamers, balloons, and party favors, with signage throughout the salon supporting holiday shopping and Shop Small Saturday.
- Partner with other nearby small businesses for a community event or cross-promote everyone’s offerings for a bigger splash.
- Have a blowout sale. Bundle products and services at a discount, markdown products to move, create baskets and bags for grab-and-go gifting, and even give away extra rewards points for any sales that day – whatever it takes to amp up shopping volume.
- Raffle off something great. Get another local business or even one of your clients to donate a prize of value or a series of smaller prizes, then sell raffle tickets up to the big day, drawing the winner(s) at its conclusion.
- Remind those who would rather not venture out of their warm beds on Shop Small Saturday to buy gift cards online or shop from your online store. Even set up a way for them to purchase raffle tickets using the card-on-file feature through RosyPay payment processing.
Shout it Out
Let your clients know how your salon is geared up and ready for Shop Small Saturday. Invite them to help celebrate small businesses in their community, starting with yours. Begin on social media with posts designed to generate support. Send a mass email campaign to clients, followed by text message marketing through Shop Small Saturday. Even use your website to promote the event and supply links for online booking and shopping to make things easy for them.
Use these Small Business Saturday assets courtesy of American Express to invite your clients to shop small with you this holiday season.
Rosy is the right software and payment processing solution for businesses of sizes. Let our team help your salon thrive with a free small business assessment.
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