Small Business Saturday: The Results

This year, more consumers shopped at local businesses on Small Business Saturday than ever before. More than 95 million consumers shopped small on November 28 and spent $16.2 billion, which according to a press release from the National Federation of Independent Business and American Express, is a significant increase from last year.

Not only was spending up, but more community members rallied for their neighborhood businesses than in recent years, including elected officials. Leaders in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. — including President Barack Obama who visited a local bookstore with his daughters — backed the day and all it stands for.

In their Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey, NFIB and AMEX found that:

Over 4,000 community members in the U.S. supported local businesses by holding events in their communities to celebrate the day, a 48 % increase from last year.

Over 400 organizations joined the Small Business Saturday Coalition, an 11% bump from 2014.

Nearly half of Small Business Saturday shoppers attended a community event on the day.

More than 80% encouraged friends and family to support the local businesses in their own communities.

Social media also played a huge role in the success of Small Business Saturday this year. In the month of November, there were 85 million social media engagements rallying support behind the day, according to the survey.

This year’s Small Business Saturday was a success — bringing more business to the local shops and restaurants that give back to our communities, while also calling attention to the need to support local economies, not just on Small Business Saturday or during the holiday season, but every day.

Want more like this? Click here for more tips for small business owners: http://ow.ly/UJ3aL

Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook LinkedIn and Instagram!

Originally published on December 1, 2015.