Cash Mobs Give Small Businesses a Boost

The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times have both reported on this phenomenon during the past week: Just in time for holiday shopping, the cash mob movement is using the power of social media to give small businesses a boost.

A cash mob is a group of buyers who assemble to give their business to a locally-owned business (small store or restaurant, for example). They're tipped off by a blog or tweet or Facebook and show up with $20 or more in cash to spend.

One cash mob shopped at an independent Cleveland bookstore; another bought holiday gifts from a Milwaukee gift store. Above, a cash mob organized by the Chamber of Commerce shops at a retail incubator in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Movements such as cash mobs and Small Business Saturday are putting the focus back on local community businesses. Everybody wins!

Happy new year, and please click back here in 2012 for more marketing news, views, and ideas.