American Express has chosen Shop Small as the theme for November 26, this year’s Small Business Saturday. Last year’s premiere event, held on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, was a huge success.  Over 1 million people “joined the movement”, largely through American Express’s use of social media such as Facebook.  And better yet, participating stores that accept American Express saw an average increase of over 25% in sales on Small Business Saturday.

As American Express states, “First there was Black Friday, then Cyber Monday. Small Business Saturday is the day we celebrate the Shop Small movement to drive shoppers to local merchants across the U.S.”  The focus on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) for big box stores and malls, and on Cyber Monday (the following Monday) for online sales inspired American Express to focus one day on shopping locally as the holiday season starts. 

There will be a variety of types of marketing materials available for free through American Express to promote the virtues of supporting locally owned businesses. Last year 100,000 businesses took advantage of downloading these materials, and 10,000 signed up for free Facebook advertising on Small Business Saturday.  The simplest way to participate is in Small Business Saturday is to share the message through your store’s social media, and to post signage provided by American Express.

American Express supports Small Business Saturday is by offering its card members a $25 statement credit on purchases made on at participating independent businesses. Last year 200,000 consumers registered to receive this credit! This is a very generous and concrete way of driving traffic into our stores — but card holders must register in advance for the offer.  And of course your store needs to accept American Express, which is one of the company’s motivations in doing this. But you can participate in Small Business Saturday without this component.

This year American Express is being joined by The Small Business Saturday Coalition, which was founded by Women Impacting Public Policy, a nonpartisan organization that advocates for issues affecting the health of small businesses. The expansion of Small Business Saturday beyond sponsorship by American Express means that the other non-profits will be helping to publicize the value of independent business. They have vowed to help spread the word that “When we support small business, jobs are created and local communities preserve their unique culture.” 

FedEx is giving away $1 million in gift cards, each worth $25, to be used at small retailers. Thirty thousand of the cards will be distributed first-come-first-serve on Facebook beginning November 1. FedEx will distribute the remaining 10,000 cards directly to FedEx customers. The Shop Small-branded American Express cards are designed to support Small Business Saturday, the day after Black Friday, November 25.

In addition to the gift card giveaway, beginning October 4, small business owners can visit www.facebook.com/shopsmall to access Small Business Saturday posters that can be printed via the FedEx Office Print Online application at a special 20 percent discount. The offer can be used on all online print orders through November 26.

The buy local movement has been a saving grace for independents during these challenging times, and American Express deserves credit for its innovative Shop Small event.  Make sure your store is on board for November 26, 2011!

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder