From the Publisher’s Desk: A reminder to ‘shop small’ this Saturday — and all year long

Shoppers were out supporting local merchants during Small Business Saturday in 2020. (My Edmonds News file photo)

In case you haven’t heard, Saturday, Nov. 27 is Small Business Saturday. Observed in all 50 states on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the idea is to encourage consumers to direct their holiday shopping to local stores.

Last year, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) reported Americans spent nearly $20 billion on Small Business Saturday. For every dollar spent at a small business, American Express estimates an average of 67 cents stays in that business’s local community. This has the potential to boost sales during the 2021 holiday season, with many small businesses still working to make up the revenue they’ve lost throughout the pandemic, the SBA notes.

There are over 32.5 million small businesses in the United States — and about half of all American workers are either employed by a small business or own a small business. In fact, two out of three net new jobs are created by small businesses.

Those are impressive statistics — and all excellent reasons to stay out of the big-box chains and instead spend your money in locally owned stores that are the heartbeat of our community. These small businesses are making a big investment in our town — they support our school fundraisers, they donate to our charities, they are engaged in our community events.

They deserve our passionate support — not just on Small Business Saturday, but every day.

Happy shopping!

Teresa Wippel, Publisher

 

 

 

 

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