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Elizabeth Sullivan of Lady Ashley Designs, with Patricia Norins of Gift Shop Magazine.


103 million Americans to shop at independently owned businesses and awareness of the campaign rose to 65 percent in 2011 as compared to 37 percent in 2010. American Express first launched the Small


Business Saturday program in 2010, and in 2011 the credit card company was joined by more than 230 organizations such as FedEx and Facebook who also signed up as program sponsors. In addition to a very robust advertising campaign that helped to spread the word at the consumer level, there was widespread media coverage and retailers initiated their own grassroots marketing campaigns that complemented the program. Promotional highlights included television commercials and a Small Business Saturday Facebook page that drew more than 2.7 million fans. The campaign also encouraged businesses to take advantage of a small business tool kit that included information and templates for emarketing, in-store signage and YouTube videos among other items. American Express offered its own incentive,


giving thousands of cardholders a $25 credit incentive for spending $25 at any small business in their community or online. The Small Business Saturday program really


drives home the importance of shopping local throughout the entire year. Strong local businesses can have a powerful impact on the surrounding community in terms of both job creation and higher property values. “It behooves a community to shop at those stores to ensure their existence, not only for the benefi t to real estate, but also because those businesses are creating jobs,” Norins says.


A recent study by American Express revealed that neighborhoods with thriving independent businesses saw home values outperform citywide markets by 50 percent. Those same neighborhoods also benefi tted from strong hiring at small, independently owned businesses. The research was based on the performance of independently owned retail and eating and drinking establishments in 27 neighborhoods located within 15 of the largest U.S. cities over the past 14 years. Traditionally, shoppers use Thanksgiving


weekend to get the bulk of their holiday shopping done. Especially in this economy, many families have a pre-determined holiday budget. “So it is important that small businesses grab their piece of the pie over the holiday weekend,” says Norins. Competing against the multi-million Black Friday advertising campaigns and promotions of larger retailers and big box stores can be a David and Goliath challenge for independent retailers. “What [the Small Business Saturday] initiative has done is brought consumer awareness about the importance of shopping locally, and really helped to level the playing field against the big box stores,” Norins adds.


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