Beyond Turkey: Retailers and Consumers Face Choices

It's November. And that means consumers and retailers have some interesting choices to make.

Walmart is one of a handful of stores that will be open all day on Thanksgiving Day. Other retailers, like Best Buy and Macy's, will open later on Thanksgiving to attract shoppers who want to start their gift buying after enjoying a holiday meal.

Black Friday (the Friday after Thanksgiving) is, of course, traditionally a big shopping day for many consumers who seek bargains. But outdoor retailer REI is promoting an alternative for the third consecutive year. As shown above, it uses the hashtag #OptOutside to encourage consumers (and employees) to enjoy nature rather than crowd into stores and plunk down money. This unusual campaign has differentiated REI from every other retailer and endeared it to brand fans and employees alike.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving is now known as Small Business Saturday. Created by American Express in 2010, Small Business Saturday is a day for encouraging consumers to choose to support small and local businesses. There are nearly 3.5 million Facebook likes for Small Business Saturday's page, featuring #ShopSmall as the hashtag.

Then comes CyberMonday, a day when online retailers promote deals to attract buyers galore. This has become a major tradition as online buying grows in popularity. Especially given the big push into ecommerce by Walmart and other store-based retailers, CyberMonday will continue to be an important day for dueling discounts (and the consumer wins).

Finally, Giving Tuesday is the youngest of these "holidays," a day that encourages charitable donations, volunteerism, and support of good causes. Founded in 2012, #GivingTuesday is a good reminder of the many ways consumers and groups can make a difference by giving of their time, talents, and money.

Shoppers Boost the Local Economy on Small Business Saturday

#ShopSmall

American Express launched Small Business Saturday in 2010 to encourage holiday shoppers to patronize local/small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

This is the seventh year and every year, merchant participation and public response have been bigger and better than the previous year. In 2015, 95 million US consumers purchased something as part of Small Business Saturday, for a total estimated financial impact of $16 billion.

This year, the official FB page has 3.5 million likes...the Twitter account has 56.5k followers...the Instagram account has 22.5k followers.

Not only does Amex provide downloadable marketing materials for small businesses, it also has a lookup function to find participating businesses in the local area, wherever you are.

A Google search for "Small Business Saturday" returned 45 million+ results today. The majority are local media outlets publicizing participants (this year and previous years). So if you have gifts to buy or want to enjoy a meal out, Small Business Saturday is a good opportunity to vote with your wallet and make a difference to the local economy.

Small Business Saturday Is Almost Here

Small Business Saturday was started in 2010 by American Express to encourage shoppers to buy from small and local businesses.

By now, social media marketing is a standard for this themed holiday shopping day, which falls between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

On Twitter, @ShopSmall has nearly 50,000 followers. On Facebook, Small Business Saturday has nearly 3.5 million likes. On Instagram, it has nearly 12,000 followers.

Businesses and shoppers are encouraged to use #shopsmall and #SmallBizSat to identify social media posts related to Small Business Saturday.

Publicity is helping spread the word, as well. Search for "Small Business Saturday" and you'll see more than 229 million results. Some are links to small businesses and some are links to news stories, local commentaries, and more. The Small Business Administration is also spreading the word. I'm doing my part on Saturday!

Black Friday, Small Biz Saturday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday . . .

The week of and after Thanksgiving is filled with "holidays" designed to shape attitudes and behavior with the holidays in mind.

• Black Friday. In the UK, Amazon introduced Black Friday in 2010. This year Amazon UK had its busiest day ever on Black Friday, far surpassing expectations. In the US, however, the number of store shoppers was either modestly higher or modestly lower (depending on the source you cite), partly because people clicked to buy. Barnes & Noble fought back against the online buying trend by having big-selling authors sign books for sale in its bricks-and-mortar stores.
• Small Business Saturday. This was a big day for small and local businesses, by all accounts. Local bookstores took part, and many small business promoted local products and artisans.
• Cyber Monday is today, a day for shopping online with an eye toward big bargains. Electronics may have been the hot products on Black Friday--it's not just electronics today. So many e-tailers have been promoting "Black Friday week" and "Cyber Monday week" that the deals are stretching over days, or just lasting for an hour or two.
• Giving Tuesday (logo above right) is a two-year-old "holiday" that's devoted to charitable donations (money, time, goods). National and local charities are hooking their promotions to this day and asking donors to use social media to encourage participation. Last year, giving spiked on Giving Tuesday. Hopefully that pattern will repeat this year.

Consumer behavior is definitely changing as a result of these "holidays:" Consumers are buzzing about them, acting on them, and voting with their wallets. Look at the buzz about Thanksgiving-day store closings, for instance: Many shoppers cheered when stores promoted NO shopping hours on Thanksgiving.

Small Business Saturday 2014

Four years ago, American Express jumpstarted the very first Small Business Saturday--the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, directly after Black Friday, a day on which customers consciously buy from small and local businesses wherever possible.

Fast-forward to 2014: Small Business Saturday's Facebook page has 3.3 million likes, 38,000 Twitter followers, and its own hashtag (#ShopSmall). American Express continues to offer cardholders financial incentives to buy local on Saturday, November 29th. Word of mouth is strong and positive, and social media marketing is creating a buzz.

Thousands of small businesses across America are gearing up to participate with special promotions and merchandising support. I've seen signage and ads in my local area, and have set aside time for buying from small businesses this Saturday. With the economy improving, 2014 promises to be the best year ever for Small Business Saturday.

Big marketing for shop small!

Fourth Annual Small Business Saturday

November 30 is Small Business Saturday, started by American Express in 2010 to encourage shoppers to patronize small businesses on the Saturday after Black Friday.

The movement has been embraced by merchants and shoppers alike. Just check the Facebook page, which has 3.2 million likes. Yikes!

The Twitter account has 25,000+ followers. Check for the hashtag #smallbizsat and you'll see all kinds of specials and comments.

The Small Business Administration is one of many organizations supporting the movement with tips and clicks.

Yes, Amex gets a lot of publicity out of it, and yes, it would be nice if Amex got a lot of charge business too. In fact, Amex offers a free $10 credit for shoppers who use its card on Saturday (check the fine print for the details and limitations). Still, an Amex VP says: “Small Business Saturday is payment agnostic,” she says. “As long as consumers shop small, we don’t care how they shop.”

Small Business Saturday 2012: Shop Small

Saturday, November 24, is Small Business Saturday, a concept originated and promoted by American Express. The idea is to support small and local businesses during this very busy holiday shopping weekend. American Express provides free downloadable and customizable marketing materials plus campaign ideas to help small businesses reach out to shoppers. It also offers $25 credit to its cardholders for shopping local.

This is the 3d annual Small Business Saturday, and the Small Business Administration is only one of many organizations getting involved. Across the country, chambers of commerce are sponsoring special events, downtown merchants' groups and community organizations are hosting receptions parades, and newspapers are providing coverage to get the word out.

Already, the Small Business Saturday Facebook page has more than 3 million likes, the Twitter account has nearly 11,000 followers, and a YouTube page (autogenerated by YouTube) has a few dozen videos related to this event.

So between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, sandwich in a bit of shopping at an independently-owned retailer or business near you.

2d Annual Small Business Saturday

American Express started the first Small Business Saturday in 2010 to encourage shoppers to buy from small, local businesses. This year, it's again promoting the day as a way to support small businesses all over the country.

There's a FB page with more than 2 million "likes" where consumers can learn more, pledge to buy from small biz on Saturday, and see who else is supporting the movement (FedEx, dozens of chambers of commerce, and many other corporations and civic groups).

TV, newspapers, blogs, and other media are spreading the word, giving the day more play and encouraging people to buy what they need and want from small, local firms. Wilmington, Delaware even switched its Christmas parade from Black Friday to Small Business Saturday to bring crowds of shoppers past the doors of local businesses. Great idea!