JOYCE M. ROSENBERG
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - After the crowds have shopped at
large stores and sprawling malls on Black Friday, many smaller
businesses are hoping Saturday will be their day.
Thousands of
small stores, restaurants, spas - and even dry cleaners - across the
U.S. will offer their own discounts and promotions to draw holiday
shoppers on what's known as Small Business Saturday.
American Express created the day three years ago, it says, to help
small businesses struggling during the recession. The credit and charge
card company encourages cardholders, who have registered in advance
online to make purchases with their cards in exchange for a $25 rebate
paid for by American Express, if they buy something at a participating
business. American Express won't say how much the promotion costs, but
Susan Sobbott, president of American Express OPEN, the company's small
business division, says it is a considerable amount.
But even small merchants who aren't officially part of the event hope
to get a bump in revenue during a weekend when they used to be all but
forgotten in an avalanche of deep discounts offered by big stores and
online retailers. Perhaps more importantly, the day has become an
opportunity for small businesses to build a corps of customers who will
keep coming back year-round.
In Dixon, Ill., 51 small businesses have banded together to recruit
local artists and performers to create a party-like atmosphere on
Saturday, and they're also planning other events for the holiday season.
A year ago, the combination of the American Express rebate and the
events helped give the participating businesses a collective revenue
increase of more than 50 percent on the Saturday after Thanksgiving,
says Lisa Higby, owner of Distinctive Gardens, a nursery and garden
center there. But the benefit goes beyond a one-day jolt.
"It gives us a yearlong impact, much greater exposure for our business," Higby says.
American
Express may have intended to give small merchants - and card usage - a
boost in a tough economy, but Small Business Saturday is also helping
small merchants get a bigger share of the spotlight and spending between
Black Friday and Cyber Monday, a shopping holiday dreamed up to get
people excited about shopping online on the Monday after Thanksgiving.
For some retailers, the sales they get after people push back from the
Thanksgiving dinner table represents a significant chunk of profit for
the year. That hasn't been so true for most small businesses. Ninety-one
percent of the 1,003 small business owners said, in a survey
commissioned by Bank of America, that the day after Thanksgiving has
little, or no, effect on their profit.
"Black Friday doesn't do anything for us," says Leslie Leahy, owner
of The Hitching Post, a gift shop in Reading, Mass. In fact, it's pretty
quiet in town because so many people are at the malls and big-box
stores, she says.
To make the most of Small Business Saturday, many small business
owners offer discounts as part of a marketing strategy for the entire
holiday season. Leahy had good results last year. Revenue at The
Hitching Post rose 28 percent on the Saturday after Thanksgiving a year
ago from the same day in 2011. She doesn't give discounts on her
merchandise, but the $25 rebate from American Express drew customers.
This year, she and other retailers in town are joining for a "buy local"
weekend. She'll be serving drinks and treats for customers. American
Express sends organizing kits to 50 chambers of commerce across the
country to help communities create joint Small Business Saturday events,
but many come up with ideas about how to promote the day on their own.
Some small business owners will have the kind of early bird specials that Black Friday is famous for.
Eden
Organix, a spa in Highland Park, N.J., will give customers a 10 percent
discount on the products it sells from 9 a.m. to noon, says owner
Valerie Robinson, who is promoting the event on Facebook, Twitter and her own website. She doesn't expect to get a big revenue boost from the
day - she's more concerned about drawing new clients and cementing her
relationship with current ones.
"We want to build more of a loyal customer base," Robinson says.
The
event has helped some small business owners turn a day that was often a
disappointment into a successful one. The Saturday after Thanksgiving
is usually one of the slowest days of the year for retailers in Tribeca,
the residential neighborhood that is part of New York's financial
district. Many people are away for the weekend, so business drops at
Babesta Cribz and Babesta Threads, two Tribeca stores. Owner Jennifer
Cattaui is taking part in Small Business Saturday for the third time,
expecting that she'll get enough of a revenue increase to give her
stores a normal take for a Saturday.
This year, Cattaui will give customers 20 percent off everything in
her Threads store, which sells clothing, accessories and toys, and 10
percent off the furniture and strollers sold in her Cribz store. And she
will have some giveaways, such as accessories for strollers.
She's also joining with about 20 other local businesses to promote
one another. The stores, which also include a wine store and bakery,
will give customers maps showing them other stores taking part in Small
Business Saturday.
"By virtue of banding together and promoting ourselves as a unit, it will up the entire amount of traffic," Cattaui says.
Small
businesses that don't accept American Express cards are having
promotions of their own. Benny's, a chain of 32 stores in New England
that sell housewares, toys, hardware and clothing, is offering special
prices on merchandise ranging from Christmas tree lights to electric
fireplaces. Co-owner Arnold Bromberg says the 88-year-old company has
done this on Black Friday as well as Saturday for many years.
"You always have to have something different on the two days after Thanksgiving to get customers in," he says.
A
search of the special web page set up for Small Business Saturday
reveals many businesses that most people don't think of as places to buy
gifts, including restaurants and dry cleaners taking part. One such
business, Dublin Cleaners in Dublin, Ohio, has experienced a sharp
increase in business over the past three years on what is typically the
store's slowest day of the year. Owner Brian Butler says customers want
to take advantage of the $25 rebate. Last year, his Saturday after
Thanksgiving revenue was up 300 percent from the same day in 2009,
before Small Business Saturday began. The revenue increase was enough to
offset the $4,000 to $5,000 in transaction fees he paid to American
Express for the year.
Although the Thanksgiving weekend is shopping-focused, American
Express purposely created the program so that any small businesses could
take part. The company has found that restaurants are the top choice
for consumers wanting to use the $25 rebate, followed by bakeries,
clothing stores, gift shops and bookstores.
Butler isn't offering any discounts on dry cleaning, but uses the $25
savings from American Express as a way to build his customer base. He
starts by sending e-mails to customers and advertises on Facebook and
Twitter about the savings. One Tweet reads: "AmEx will pay your tab in
our store. No strings!!!"
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press
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