NFIB: Small Business Saturday More Important Than Ever This Year
Consider supporting local businesses in a variety of ways

TRENTON, (Nov. 23, 2020)—Small Business Saturday falls on November 28 this year, one of the most difficult years ever for many locally owned businesses across the state. That’s especially true for restaurants and retail shops. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is encouraging people to support small businesses in a variety of ways on Small Business Saturday and beyond.

If people prefer not to go out shopping this season, many small businesses offer their products online as well as home delivery or curbside pickup. A small business owner is much more likely to be available by phone if customers have questions. Showing support for local businesses on Small Business Saturday and throughout 2021 will help business owners get past the recent economic downturn. That will help keep communities vibrant.

“Shoppers may not realize all the good that comes from spending their hard-earned cash right near home, but the benefits of buying local are extensive,” said New Jersey’s NFIB State Director Eileen Kean. “That money stays in your community, it keeps Main Street hopping, and it allows the shops and restaurants to thrive. It also means a paycheck for many local workers.”

“With the support of customers, small businesses can survive this economic hardship and begin to grow again,” added Kean. “Most people don’t realize that while they may be small, these businesses together employ about half of all workers and are a major economic force contributing to the health of the state and national economies.”

Small Business Saturday has been held the weekend after Thanksgiving since it was created eleven years ago by American Express following the 2009 recession. The idea was if consumers could be encouraged to “shop small” and support local businesses it would lead back to a healthy economy. The event has gained in popularity. Last year, sales on Small Business Saturday reached a record $9.6 billion, according to the Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey conducted by American Express and NFIB. And research commissioned by American Express shows that each dollar spent creates another 50 cents of local business activity as a result of employee spending and a business purchasing local goods.

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For more than 75 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses, and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.