Despite announcements by several retailers that are bucking the trend of stores opening on Thanksgiving for the start of the holiday shopping season, including REI, Nordstrom and Costco, it can seem like a losing battle when Macy’s, Sears, Target, Walmart and other major retailers no longer are interested in waiting for Black Friday.
And it’s tough to argue that Thanksgiving’s focus be kept on family togetherness when part of the family splits off after the meal to watch football and/or nap. Might as well go shopping.
Thanksgiving now marks the start of a multi-day consumption blitz that includes Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when online shoppers skip the lines and do their shopping at the office. To get a sense of how much we spend online and at retail stores, an online coupon website, couponbox.com, offers a page that estimates what Americans are spending in real time at Amazon, Walmart and Macy’s and for specific items.
It’s a little mesmerizing to watch the numbers roll up, and intriguing to see what we spend our money on. We spend more on beer than at Starbucks. Even though cigarette use has fallen among adults, we still spend about five times on tobacco what we spend on books. On the positive side, what we give to charity amounts to more than six times what we spend on the lottery.
But in between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, there’s a relatively new shopping holiday that deserves some promotion. Small Business Saturday began in 2010, a promotion by AmericanExpress, to encourage holiday shoppers to patronize the small businesses in their communities. In previous years, the credit company has offered $10 to $25 credit statements for items bought at small businesses. AmEx isn’t offering that promotion this year, but has continued its sponsorship and advertising in the program. It’s website, tinyurl.com/SmallBizSaturdayAmEx, offers tools for shoppers and small businesses.
The program appears successful in promoting small businesses. Last year’s Small Business Saturday generated about $14.3 billion in sales at independent shops across the nation, AmEx reports.
Our economy does depend heavily on consumer spending. As much as possible, many of us try to buy American-made goods and services because it supports U.S. jobs. Likewise, shopping in our own communities, supports the jobs at those businesses. As of 2010, there were an estimated 27.9 million small businesses in the U.S., providing about half of the nation’s private-sector employment, the Small Business Administration reports. Local businesses, in turn, use the services of other local businesses, and often sell goods that have been made or grown in the area, supporting more local jobs.
But Small Business Saturday shouldn’t been seen as an act of charity. Shopping locally supports jobs in your community, but often the items and services for sale are of better quality and value than you might find at a major retailer and might even make a more thoughtful gift. Add to that fewer lines, smaller crowds, less jostling and maybe better cheer.
No doubt, there are deals to be had on Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but Small Business Saturday is a good deal for everyone.
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