Since launching in 2010, Small Business Saturday has attracted more interest by local retailers nationwide, according to a recent survey of 500 U.S. small business owners:
18 percent will advertise on radio, TV or newspaper (up from 9 percent in 2012).
33 percent will offer a free gift with purchase (up from 20 percent in 2012).
36 percent will offer coupons or discounts.
70 percent say it will help attract new customers.
SOURCE: National Federation of Independent Business and American Express
Amid the chirping, twittering and fluttering, The Bird Shop in Sacramento, Calif., has all the sounds of a bustling holiday season. From her perch amid dozens of chattering parrots, parakeets, cockatiels and canaries, third-generation owner Tiffany Latino is counting on strong sales in the weeks ahead.
And there’s one day she’s particularly zeroed in on: this weekend’s Small Business Saturday, a nationwide event to encourage holiday shoppers to spend some dollars at local, independent businesses.
With fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, small businesses say they need the holidays — and the attention focused on Nov. 30 — to go out big.