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thePeorian.com
W
hen something has
been proven a success,
the tendency is to not
only stick with it but to expand it.
Such is the case with Small
Business Saturday, the special
holiday shopping day created
by American Express in 2010
that has grown by the proverbial
leaps and bounds since then. It
will be Nov. 24 this year.
American Express said more
than 100 million people partici-
pated in Small Business Saturday
in 2011 and that will likely dou-
ble this year, based on a survey
AMEX commissioned after the
2011
event.
American Express created the
event in 2010 and put it on the
Saturday between Black Friday,
when most shoppers hit the big-
box stores the day after Thanks-
giving, the traditional start of the
Christmas shopping season, and
CyberMonday, traditionally the
biggest Internet shopping day of
the year.
“
We wanted to encourage
shoppers to patronize the brick
and mortar business that are
small and local,” American Ex-
press said when the event began.
It took advantage of the mil-
lions of people who use social
media to promote the day on
Facebook, Twitter and other
avenues. It enlisted the support
of other companies and organiza-
tions and advertised on television
and radio, as well.
American Express still sup-
ports the day, providing small
merchants with promotional
materials and giving its own cus-
tomers incentives to shop those
small merchants.
From the start the day has
received much support from
large business organizations as
well as politicians, helping with
the tremendous growth it has
experienced.
In central Illinois last year
the mayors of several Peoria-
area towns gathered for a news
conference in Washington and
promoted the day as a way to
help those small brick and mortar
stores.
“
It was huge here. Our mer-
chants have told us that Small
Business Saturday was their
biggest day of the year last year,”
said Chevie Ruder, executive di-
rector of the Washington Cham-
ber of Commerce. “They cannot
wait for it to get here this year.”
PATRONAGE
APPRECIATED!
Merchants embrace
Small Business
Saturday
Paul Gordon
CONTINUED ON PAGE 36
