The big box retailers have their Black Friday, but today local businesses have their time in the sun with Small Business Saturday.
Business owners throughout Trussville, Clay and Pinson are hoping for big crowds as the national retail spotlight shines on locally owned businesses on Main Street. Shopping locally not only helps the mom and pop stores, but also keeps tax revenue inside the city limits where local governments rely on the money to provide local services
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CNBC reports that American Express created the day three years ago, it said, to help small businesses struggling during the recession. The credit and charge card company encourages cardholders, who have registered in advance online to make purchases with their cards in exchange for a $25 rebate paid for by American Express, if they buy something at a participating business.
American Express won’t say how much the promotion costs, but Susan Sobbott, president of American Express OPEN, the company’s small business division, said it is a considerable amount.
But even small merchants who aren’t officially part of the event hope to get a bump in revenue during a weekend when they used to be all but forgotten in an avalanche of deep discounts offered by big stores and online retailers. Perhaps more importantly, the day has become an opportunity for small businesses to build a corps of customers who will keep coming back year-round, the report says.