On November 29th, American Express’ Small Biz Saturday will celebrate its fifth anniversary and kick-off the holiday season for small, independent businesses. Held each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and before Cyber Monday is Small Business Saturday.
In 2010, American Express founded Small Business Saturday to help businesses with their most pressing need – getting more customers. The day encourages people to shop at small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The single day has grown into a powerful movement, and more people are taking part than ever before.
The day was created in response to small business owners’ most pressing need, more customers, and has since grown into an annual celebration of the independent businesses that help boost our local economies. For the past five years, small business owners have embraced the day and developed creative and effective ways to promote their businesses. American Express is again helping to amplify those efforts to help small business owners expand their local footprint on Small Business Saturday and throughout the holiday season.
This year, a number of new national initiatives are making it easier than ever for consumers to get involved. To date, nearly 3,000 neighborhoods from every state and the District of Columbia have signed on to participate in Small Business Saturday by hosting events and in-store activations.
Activities planned from coast to coast include:
- Small Business Saturday Night Out: After the sun goes down on November 29th, small businesses in neighborhoods located in New York, Chicago and San Francisco will stay open late and host events for a one-of-a-kind night-time shopping and dining experience.
- Etsy Trunk Shows: Etsy and American Express have teamed up to encourage small businesses to host local Trunk Shows in their stores on Small Business Saturday. Consumers can find a trunk show in their community by visiting here.
- Main Street Makeover: 5 “Main Streets†across the country will receive makeovers from professional designers leading up to the busy shopping holiday weekend. Participating cities include San Francisco, Hoboken, Coral Gables, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
- Street Art: For the second year in a row, American Express will commission artists to create Shop Small murals in 12 cities, bringing to life the unique energy independent businesses bring to Main Streets nationwide.