Elevating the Buy Small, Buy Local Culture for the Holidays
Small business Saturday has quickly gained popularity in the United States as a measured response to concerns about the over-the-top commercialism of Black Friday. Since its founding by American Express in 2010 (with additional support from the United States Small Business Administration since 2011), American consumers have spent roughly $223 billion on Small Business Saturdays. This emphasis on small business entrepreneurs has a number of potential positive impacts, including heightened support for main street storefronts, a higher share of consumer purchases staying with local workers and owners, and for rural areas, helping to increase the success rate of startups in less populated regions.
There has been backlash against the crazed Black Friday dynamic driven by big box stores and national chains hoping to capture holiday season dollars. In response, NBC news reported that in 2025, 86% of US households plan to shop at small businesses; that number is up over 10% from previous years and highest among Millennials and Gen Z, with 89% planning to shop small. These are encouraging trends for the small businesses that employ over half of all private sector workers, and for rural America, where smaller firms make up over 95% of all establishments.
Small and Rural Go Hand in Hand
The role of small businesses in US rural economies is surprising large and growing. Some credit this rural concentration of small businesses with “pull factors” felt by entrepreneurs who notice the demand every community has to provide the goods and services their residents desire (coffee shops, health and beauty services, brewpubs), no matter what size. But, those who study entrepreneurs also track evidence of “push factors” associated with few other rural employment opportunities in areas reliant on sectors with shrinking labor needs such as agriculture, mining and energy. Rural push factors are particularly strong among women entrepreneurs who may see opportunities for start ups that complement waning traditional industries such as food businesses, clothing and art retailers that use natural elements or tourism that integrates historical or ranch-based activities.
Online and Trending this Saturday
When shopping this Small Business Saturday, more Americans will be going online and using their mobile devices. Many buyers are looking for unique offerings: 81% of the Millennial and Gen Z cohort “discovered a new small, independently owned business or restaurant through social media in the past year.” According to Queue-It, there were over 50 million online shoppers for Small Business Saturday in 2024 and entrepreneurs are going online to gain their attention. Etsy and TikTok market have made a social media strategy, online presence and the status of influencers increasingly essential for small business marketing.
Again, the significant shift to online purchasing is even more important to rural entrepreneurs. Since one of the barriers to success for rural business owners is having a large enough customer base , expanding the potential pool of buyers through online sales to national (or international) markets is a perfect potential solution. E-commerce and online sales have grown consistently over the last 15 years, but the COVID era spurred faster growth and opened up opportunities for savvy marketers to sell their goods outside of the area where they live. A well-positioned rural entrepreneur can now provide customized gifts through their Etsy shop or offer food gifts that leverage the reputation of their regional food scene (think New England seafood, Colorado beef or Oregon fruit).
But why Shop Small?
Beyond the hope of getting the “perfect gift” that shows the special effort of seeking out a unique offering, there are bigger motives to support Shop Small Saturday. The US Small Business Administration’s SCORE program reports that 67 cents of every dollar spent at a small business in the U.S. stays in the local community: 44 cents to the business over and 23 cents spent at other local businesses in that same community. So if every one of the Gen Z and Millennial shoppers intending to shop small spent $10 on a unique gift this Small Business Saturday, it would generate $2 billion in local economic activity. Who are the most likely types of businesses to gain from this weekend’s sales? SCORE reports that independently-owned bakeries, clothing, accessory and shoe stores, restaurants and pubs, bookstores, and gift/souvenir stores are the places local shoppers most connect with when thinking about shopping small and local.
But beyond the numbers, everyone hopes to live in a vibrant community that has locally-based cultural, social and economic touchstones to take pride in and share with others. Small Business Saturday is a chance to “double down” by making purchases not just for one’s self, but to share the best of their community with others. So, this year, perhaps depend a bit less on your Amazon wish lists, and instead, find a new Etsy storefront, send greeting cards crafted by a local artisan or ship a food gift from the producer you met at your downtown farmer’s market. The impact to your local small businesses will be noticed.
