More Than 112M Shoppers Shopped Small On Small Business Saturday

As 112 million consumers “shopped small” this past Saturday (Nov. 26), research said there’s nothing small about this year’s Small Business Saturday promotion numbers. According to the Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and American Express, this year saw a 13 percent increase over last year.

The survey, which polled nearly 2,200 shoppers over the age of 18, said that American consumers spent more than $15.4 billion at independent retailers and restaurants on the day, a decrease from the estimated $16.2 billion spent in 2015. Experts say the reason for this is consumers are deciding to spread the total holiday shopping spending out across a longer timeframe than in past years.

That said, despite Cyber Monday wrapping up yesterday (Nov. 28), shifting the focus to online sales, Small Business Saturday’s brick-and-mortar shopping experience did not perform sales-wise better than the year before.

However, research is showing that more consumers were more aware of what the day meant than ever before. NFIB said that Small Business Saturday, in its seventh year, climbed to 72 percent of consumers aware of the day compared to 70 percent last year. But the fact that these consumers knew about the day and made an effort to come out to support their local community was not without organizations coming together to get the word out.

More than 6,700 Neighborhood Champions — an increase of 63 percent over last year — around the country rallied local businesses, creating events and activities in their communities. And, across the country, 480 organizations signed up to support the Small Business Saturday Coalition, a local, state and nationally associated group that launched in 2011 to help intensify and strengthen the message.

Social media for Small Business Saturday was also stronger than ever with more than 135 million social media engagements. That number is up more than 50 million over last year. The lead-up to the day was, however, just as important for promoting the day. Between Nov. 1 and 26, nearly 250,000 social media posts were made on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, with many of them using one or more related hashtags — #ShopSmall, #SmallBizSat and/or #DineSmall — and more than 150,000 were posted on the exact day.

And this year, it even got political. More than 280 federal officials, agencies and politicians, including President Obama, used social media to promote the day and support the effort. The president issued a letter recognizing the day, while elected officials in every state pushed for the shopping initiative, especially after the Senate passed a resolution for Nov. 26, 2016, as Small Business Saturday and 651 city proclamations were issued across the country.

Companies like FedEx, Uber and A&T, which are each arguably the exact opposite of “small businesses,” buttressed the special Saturday by being corporate supporters. Some posted on social media, others connected their audience with small businesses and others encouraged their employees to “Shop Small” on the day.

Small businesses also had access to special marketing options through the Small Business Studio, and they used those assets. Research said that owners used the studio more than 85,000 times for a variety of marketing options and channels.

So, despite slightly lower sales, more people came out to support the seven-year initiative. And ultimately, small businesses and their supporters are certainly making no small noise about this annual event.