YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The purpose of Small Business Saturday is to highlight the role of small businesses in the U.S. economy.
But it also promotes a sense of community, says Susan Mocker, co-owner of Extending Grace, a Hubbard store that offers vintage and antique home décor, art and do-it-yourself products.
Every year on Small Business Saturday – the Saturday following Thanksgiving – Mocker sees people who haven’t seen each other for a while chatting.
“Small businesses in the area are one link that people have for helping the community have a character, have a personality,” Mocker says. “It’s just one of the many ways a community expresses itself, but I think small businesses have a big part in that.”
According to the American Express 2023 Saturday Consumer Insights Survey, total spending by U.S. consumers at independent retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturday reached an estimated $17 billion.
Since its launch in 2010, Small Business Saturday has driven more than $200 million in reported consumer spending, according to Jessica Ling, executive vice president of global brand advertising at American Express, which established the day.
“As a longtime advocate for small businesses, we understand their evolving needs and know the important role that they play in helping local communities thrive,” she said in an email. “For every dollar spent at a small business in the U.S., 68 cents stays in the community. We are looking forward to celebrating and powerfully backing these businesses and their communities as we enter the 15th Small Business Saturday on Nov. 30.”
HUBBARD
Hubbard is among several communities in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys that are participating in the promotion.
As part of Small Business Saturday this year, Extending Grace will host a handful of pop-ups within the store and offer swag bags to the first 30 customers, Mocker says. In addition, she is coordinating Shop Small Hubbard, a promotion in conjunction with other Hubbard businesses that day. Shoppers will be given cards that they can get punched with each purchase at a participating Hubbard business.
“Once they have five punches on their card, they can either drop it off at Extending Grace, Woodland Cellars or Katie’s Coffee Shop in Hubbard, and then we’ll have a drawing at the end of the day,” Mocker said. The prize will be gift certificates for Hubbard merchants.
In a time when rising costs are forcing many independently owned businesses to close, calling attention to the plight of small business is especially important, Dani Wilson, co-owner of Woodland Cellars, says.
Woodland Cellars will open early Nov. 30 and have brunch specials starting at 10 a.m., Wilson says. In addition, the shop will offer 20% off bottle sales as well as other specials.
“People tend to forget about small businesses. It’s nice to be able to just give them that reminder that, hey, we’re here, we have some really great things and we’re relying on our customers to support us and stay open,” she says.
SALEM
The Salem Area Chamber of Commerce will be a “Neighborhood Champion of Small Business” through American Express for the seventh consecutive year, a chamber spokesperson says. Chamber members are encouraged to pick up Shop Small promotional items at the chamber offices.
In addition, chamber representatives plan to visit downtown businesses to distribute tote bags, pens, banners, balloons and signs to help generate excitement about the event.
HERMITAGE, Pa.
Carlee Webb, co-owner of Webb Winery in Hermitage, Pa., says businesses are all going through the same things. She acknowledges that many of the stores in Hermitage offer “more indulgent items” rather than necessities.
“It’s harder when you have to increase prices,” she says. “We’ve all just been trying to balance how to handle the increases.”
In addition to the “12 Weeks of Christmas” promotion that Webb Winery is doing now, the shop will include a gift with each purchase of $50 or more, Webb says.
She also is coordinating a Small Business Saturday event with other businesses as well as doing promotions at her retail store.
As in Hubbard, select Hermitage businesses will take part in what Webb called the Hermitage Holiday Shop Around, in which shoppers will get cards stamped or signed at merchants Nov. 29 through Dec. 2 that then will be entered into a grand prize drawing.
“We’re doing it for the entire weekend” because not every store will be open every day, Webb says. “So, we’re giving people a longer span to hit the stores.”
SHARON, Pa.
The city of Sharon, Pa., will again merge Small Business Saturday with its annual holiday celebration, with a slate of activities form 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 30.
“We’re putting a big focus on encouraging people to shop small,” Jeff Feola, the city’s director of community and economic development, says.
Downtown Sharon, which Feola says is at 75% capacity, has 30-some businesses, a mix of specialty shops, restaurants and establishments that offer classes and “lots of opportunities for people to go downtown.” Businesses also will distribute stickers, tote bags and masks from American Express with the “Shop Small” message to patrons. One of the businesses is doing an ornament hunt.
The festivities will begin with a 10 a.m. ribbon cutting. Swag-filled reusable totes will be given to the first 100 people who show up at the green space at the intersection of Shenango Avenue and East State Street. There will also be appearances by Santa Claus and a pop-up shop along Shenango Avenue.
“It’s just going to be a bunch of community organizations and businesses that are offering anything from giveaways to interactive experiences and craft-making activities,” Feola says. “It’s a very family-friendly moment to be in the downtown.”
At 4:45 p.m., a live performance will take place in front of the 30-foot-tall holiday tree that will be in the green space where the former Huntington Bank building once stood, followed by a tree lighting at 5:30 p.m. and fireworks.
“The new tree is going to be a really awesome visual as you drive down State Street,” Feola says
In addition, businesses are being encouraged to participate in a seasonal giveaway that will begin Small Business Saturday.
Customers can sign up at participating shops for the giveaway, which will feature items such as gift baskets and gift certificates, through Dec. 20.
“Hopefully it ends up being not just a one-day thing” and encourages people to patronize downtown establishments in the weeks that follow, he says.
One of the features of this year’s event will be s’more making with the braziers used in the popular WaterFire festival.
COLUMBIANA
Columbiana Area Chamber of Commerce also is an American Express partner for Small Business Saturday but will kick off the holiday season Nov. 22 with the annual Columbiana Christmas Parade and tree-lighting.
“As always, the Columbiana Area Chamber of Commerce encourages everyone near and far to shop our local artisans and vintage shops while dining at wonderful farm-to-table establishments,” Bridget Wolsonovich, the chamber’s executive director, says.
In addition to patronizing Columbiana breweries, visitors can participate in a full day of attractions that will include the Joy of Christmas drive-through light display at Firestone Park and a visit to The Gingerbread House with Santa Claus and his wife in Santa’s Ice Castle.
Pictured at top: Carlee Webb is the co-owner of Webb Winery in Hermitage, Pa.