Ashley Feeder

JMC 301

Holstege 

19 November 2021

Business/Economy Story

Tempe is having its annual Small Business Saturday again this year. 

Many people have heard of Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving where stores offer

discounted prices to kick off holiday shopping. 

Some people have heard of Pink Friday, which is on the same day as Black Friday, but is specific

to small businesses.

You may have even heard of Cyber Monday, which is the online version of Black Friday.

To completely fill your Thanksgiving weekend with shopping, I present: Small Business

Saturday.

Small Business Saturday takes place the Saturday after Thanksgiving on November 27th.

People are encouraged to shop small, meaning spending money at local and privately-owned

stores.

The city of Tempe highly encourages people in the community to participate.

“Your patronage keeps stores open and your neighbors working. It keeps both necessary and fun

businesses close to your home, saving you time and gas. More than that, shopping in Tempe

helps pay for community parks, police and fire service and many other city services,” says the

city of Tempe on their website. 

Intuit Mint, a personal financial management company, did a 2021 survey that found for every

$100 spent at a small business, $48 is put back into the local economy.
“I believe it helps fuel our economy in a positive way,” said Quinn Conahan, an Arizona State

University student who started her own small business during the pandemic called Quinn

Jewelry.

“I was so bored and needed a creative outlet last June. I started making jewelry for myself and

my business just blossomed from there,” said Conahan.

Conahan said she wished that she could have done some Small Business Friday sales this year,

but with finals just around the corner, she wasn’t able to make time to.

Quinn Dickerson, a Tempe resident, said he has heard of Small Business Saturday, and

participates in it every year.

“I always go to a small business that day, like a coffee shop,” said Dickerson.

Dickerson said that his favorite individually owned business is a coffee shop in north Phoenix

called Elevate. 

Independently owned businesses were hit the hardest during the pandemic, and with a projected

holiday spending increase this year, it wouldn’t hurt to put some of that money back into the

community.

The National Retail Federation predicts “the highest national retail sales on record” and total

sales are expected to reach between $843 billion to $859 billion.

The idea of Small Business Saturday was first introduced by American Express, the finances

service company, in 2010.

Their goal was to bring more attention to small businesses for holiday shopping during the

recession.

Now, in 2021, small businesses once again rely on spending surges like the holidays to keep

them around during a time when economic trends are unprecedented due to the pandemic.
“I think it’s important to shop at small businesses because they are actual people that care about

their consumers. Big businesses don’t really care about the individual consumer,” said

Dickerson.

Conahan said that “Shopping small is important because it helps support someone else’s hard

work and most of the time you will get better quality products as well as better customer

service.”

Conahan also added that customers have a better chance of getting the products that they are

buying more customized how they would like. 

“You have a better chance of customization in small businesses that large companies simply

could not handle in the same way,” said Conahan. 

American Express’ Small Business Saturday campaign announced plans to drive $100 billion in

reported consumer spending at small businesses from 2021 through 2025.

The Chief Marketing Officer at American Express, Elizabeth Rutledge said in a release

about the campaign that, “Excitement is building among consumers and small businesses ahead

of the holidays, with 63% of small business owners surveyed reporting that they are preparing

for a bigger holiday shopping season than last year despite supply chain shortages and other

challenges due to the pandemic.”

According to an American Express Shop Small Impact Survey, more 56% of the small

businesses surveyed agree that this year’s Small Business Saturday is more critical than ever for

their business and 78% said holiday sales will impact their ability to keep their doors open in

2022. 

The study also found that consumers shopping small this holiday season have the potential to

contribute an estimated $695 billion into the U.S. small business economy. 
The 2021 Intuit Mint survey said that $12.9 billion was spent during Small Business Saturday in

2020.

This was a 65% decrease from 2019, where $20 billion was spent.

Hopefully, this years’ Small Business Saturday will continue the trend of uplifting and

supporting the small businesses in the community so that Tempe can thrive.