Holiday shopping continues in force with Small Business Saturday drawing attention away from the big-box retailers.
Local merchants have been busy leading up to Small Business Saturday, and weekend traffic was no exception. With Thanksgiving seeing more shopping attention the past few years and Cyber Monday becoming a bigger shopping day every year, local retailers are now looking at the first extended holiday weekend — Thursday through Monday — as their barometer for a successful season as opposed to just Black Friday. Here’s Aaron Otto of Brown’s Shoe Fit:
Kari Stookey of Kari’s Diamonds and Bridal carried over Black Friday deals to Small Business Saturday. She says people jumped on specials, and she anticipates a solid season at her store.
Sweet Granada owner Kim Redeker enjoyed the benefits of Emporia Main Street’s Sugar Stroll in addition to the Small Business Saturday traffic. Small Business Saturday has been her focus the past several years, but now that thought is evolving.
Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore owner Marcia Lawrence says she was concerned after hearing some guidance about a soft holiday sales period, but so far she hasn’t seen that at her store. A lot of that, she says, is an attitude of supporting local businesses.
In Emporia, there were a host of participating businesses, with most along Commercial and Sixth Avenue. Nationally, traffic was expected to be heavy. Since Small Business Saturday began in 2011, American Express — the company that started the push — says around $85 billion has been spent at independent restaurants or retailers just on the day.
