Small Business Saturday's #ShopSmall campaign has been the hope of several local stores and businesses to make them stay around for years. And as the holiday season comes close, small shops offered big discounts and buy-one-get-one deals in Holland, Michigan over the weekend.
As a support to #ShopSmall, residents came out in downtown Holland on Saturday morning to shop. According to Holland Sentinel, Home and Co., Tip Toes and Jean Marie's co-owner Matt Holmes said that locals were fond of supporting small businesses in their community while residents said they love the variety of products offered by small stores.
"I want (local stores) to stay around. I don't want them to leave," Melinda Werling said about why she tries to shop local. "I think they have a lot of good merchandise to offer." While Nancy Gebben added, "It's fun. There's a lot of variety and we really like small stores."
Last year, American shoppers reportedly spent $14.3 billion at small, independent businesses during the #ShopSmall campaign. And this year, Holland's Downtown Development Authority has taken on Small Business Saturday and promoted it through a social media contest, asking shoppers to take selfies and post them with the hashtag #DHShopSmall to enter to win a $100 gift card to the downtown Holland business of their choice.
Small Business Saturday's #ShopSmall campaign is now on its fourth year and almost 20 downtown businesses officially participated with special deals, promotions and giveaways.
Meanwhile, San Pedro community in Los Angeles has also joined the nationwide #ShopSmall campaign of the local businesses. In this close-knit community, shopping became a journey down memory lane as consumers felt its 1960 where many shop owners knew their customers and their family, Daily Breeze noted. Though it has been the era of mega-malls and big-box chain stores, some residents still keep it local by supporting small businesses.
As per San Pedro Chamber of Commerce President Elise Swanson, the annual Small Business Saturday's #ShopSmall campaign supported the local economy and local retailers and restaurants of the community. And today, San Pedro's downtown shopping district is the focus of a redevelopment effort designed to better connect it to the nearby waterfront.
"Small Business Saturday plays a key role in driving customer traffic and growing revenue for our 28 million independent businesses during the important holiday retail season," President Barack Obama's cabinet and U.S. Small Business Administration Head Maria Contreras-Sweet said in a statement. "We're also encouraging consumers to 'dine small' by grabbing a bite at a local eatery."
"By shopping local and small, the majority of the money stays within the community," Contreras-Sweet added. "Small business owners and Main Street businesses are the fabric of our daily lives. They have energy and passion for what they do and when we support small businesses, jobs are created and local communities preserve their unique culture."
In order to urge shoppers, many of the businesses downtown offered sales and give-aways Saturday amid the annual #ShopSmall campaign, 9ABC reported.
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