Today is the day to celebrate Main Street over Wall Street; it’s Small Business Saturday.
The day was earmarked as part of the holiday shopping tradition nine years ago, as a way to celebrate locally-owned businesses. Last year, Americans spent nearly 13-billion dollars while “shopping small.”
The day was ‘created’ by American Express in 2010 as a way to help small retailers in the wake of the Great Recession. The company also offered a $25 credit toward small business purchases. In 2013, the credit was reduced to ten-dollars, and it was eliminated entirely by 2015 as the day gained widespread acceptance.
Americans have spend an estimated 85-billion dollars at independent retailers and restaurants since the program was launched.
According to the National Federation of Independent Business, 83-percent of consumers plan to do at least a portion of their holiday shopping with local retailers, either in person or online. 44-percent will do so today, according to another survey.