November 24 was a pretty good day for US Small Business Saturday, racking up a record $17.8 billion in sales at independent retailers and restaurants, according to the latest National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) data.
The strong sales were up 27.5%, rebounding from $12.9 billion in 2017.
Launched 2010 by American Express to promote small business and spending has now reached a reported total of $103 billion since the day began in 2010.
Sales grew, traffic dipped slightly
An estimated 104 million US consumers shopped or dined at local independently owned businesses on Small Business Saturday, according to the NFIB survey. That number was down slightly from 108 million in 2017 and 112 million in 2016, according to the survey from American Express and NFIB.
42% of consumers said they shopped or dined in person at independent businesses and 41% also purchased online from small businesses. Encouraging results for the millions of US small businesses.
“Millions of shoppers came together to show their support for small, independently owned businesses this Small Business Saturday,” said Elizabeth Rutledge, Chief Marketing Officer at American Express. “The Shop Small movement has become a national celebration – people all around the country are turning out to back the small businesses that make our neighborhoods and communities thrive.”
Holiday shopping critical for small business
Small business owners expect an average of 29% of their total annual sales to take place during the holiday shopping season, and 59% said Small Business Saturday contributes significantly to their holiday sales each year, according to the 2018 Small Business Owner Insights Survey from American Express and the NFIB.
“Small and independent businesses depend on holiday sales and the shoppers that Small Business Saturday brings into their stores and online shops,” said NFIB President and CEO Juanita D Duggan.
Two-thirds of small businesses surveyed said they expect 2018 sales to be higher than in 2017. 51% of businesses planned to extend store hours and 36% expect to hire more staff during the holiday season.
While awareness of Small Business Saturday is less important than sales, it’s clear that this was a positive increase in sales over last year. Small business owners need to continue to work on their promotions, relevance to consumers in their local markets, and compete with a combination of service and price that brings customers back.
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