NEW YORK—On the heels of Black Friday, dominated by big-box store deals, Small Business Saturday draws customers to small shops and boutiques for holiday specials.
In Fort Greene and Clinton Hill in Brooklyn, a free hop-on, hop-off bus will take shoppers around to stores participating in Small Business Saturday. Music, treats, a visit from Santa, and in-store events will be part of the trip.
American Express is giving its customers a $25 credit if they register their cards and spend $25 or more on a qualifying small business. The credit card company and FedEx are both giving businesses a hand up to advertise. Some businesses will get $100 of free geo-targeted Facebook advertising and they can tell their stories on a YouTube platform titled, “My Business Story.”
As of Monday, nearly 2.5 million people “liked” Small Business Saturday on Facebook. American Express found a 28 percent rise in sales on Small Business Saturday last year for small merchants that accept American Express, when compared to the same Saturday in 2009, according to online publication The Street.
This is the second year American Express has hosted this event and it won’t be the last.
“Year 1 was about claiming the day. Year 2 is about empowering small businesses to own that day,” American Express spokesman Scott Krugman told the Street.
“I think Year 3 you do start to see the snowball effect—it becomes a part of the holiday tradition nestled between Black Friday and Cyber Monday,” says Krugman.
