Main Street Pins Hopes on Small Business Saturday Sales to Help Stay Afloat
  • As holiday shopping gets into gear this weekend, its uncertain how Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28 will move the needle and help the millions of business owners on Main Street struggling to survive.
  • Forty-three percent of shoppers plan to spend less this holiday season than they did in 2019, and only 6% plan to spend the most money on Small Business Saturday, according to the Small Business Saturday Survey conducted by SurveyMonkey and CNBC.
  • Roughly 75% small business owners have said that they need holiday spending to return to normal in order to stay in business in 2021, a recent study by American Express revealed.

As holiday shopping gets into gear this weekend, its uncertain how Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28 will move the needle and help the millions of business owners on Main Street struggling to survive. According to a Small Business Saturday Survey conducted by SurveyMonkey and CNBC, 43% of shoppers plan to spend less this holiday season than they did in 2019, and only 6% plan to spend the most money on Small Business Saturday.

The national study conducted from Nov.,16-18 released on Friday, surveyed 3,122 individuals age 18 to over 65. The survey was conducted using SurveyMonkey’s online platform and based on its survey methodology.

The national study conducted from Nov.,16-18 released on Friday, surveyed 3,122 individuals age 18 to over 65. The survey was conducted using SurveyMonkey’s online platform and based on its survey methodology.


Roughly three in four (75%) small business owners have said that they need holiday spending to return to normal in order to stay in business in 2021, and almost half (46%) expressed the need for above average spending, according to the American Express Shop Small Impact study.

The economic impact from this sales event is substantial. Small businesses benefit from increased sales during the busy holiday season, which in turn benefits the communities where they’re located. According to American Express, 67 cents of every dollar spent at a small business—whether it’s a retail store, restaurant or something else—stays in the community.

An estimated 110 million people participated in Small Business Saturday last year, and sales hit a record high with an estimated $19.6 billion in reported spending, according to American Express, which helped to create Small Business Saturday in response to the Great Recession.

While shoppers may be curbing spending in 2020, the CNBC/SurveyMonkey survey revealed that 30% of shoppers plan to patronize a small business on Small Business Saturday. That is down 9% from last year.

Surprisingly, 39% of all that activity will be in-person, 25% online and 34% both. One percent of respondents did not answer the question, the survey noted. Those numbers are vastly different than last year when 8% planned to shop online, 58% in-person and 33% planned to do both.

Strategies in the Covid economy

Considering the many challenges small business owners face, experts give tips on how they can drive sales during this key shopping day.

Most concur the best strategies include: boosting the company’s online sales presence; implementing touchless transactions; introducing local delivery; creating customer gift lists, along with putting in place a range of new safety protocols in stores.

“The No. 1 thing small businesses need to do to drive sales on Small Business Saturday is prioritize health and safety for their customers,” said Nick Starai, CSO of NMI, the payment platform used by 140,000 merchants and the behind-the-scenes payment enabler for Apple Pay and Google Pay. “No. 2 is to embrace touchless payment systems,” he added.

“Our customer surveys show these are what consumers are looking for. They want to feel safer in small store environments. Many believe big box retailers have more safety and health protocols in place than small businesses. Business owners need to change the perception.”

As he explains, there are simple things business owners can do such as having hand sanitizers at the register, using floor markers for social distancing, having employees wear face makes and sanitizing point-of-sale systems between customers that go a long way in boosting consumer confidence.

Gary Huether, Jr., an entrepreneur in the restaurant business – an industry severely impacted by the pandemic– has taken a lot of measures to prepare for Small Business Saturday in hopes of a sales boost.

“We have had some of the toughest restrictions of any industry since the coronavirus crisis began and we are hoping our customers will come out and support us this weekend with indoor dining or takeout,” says Huether, president and co-founder of Arooga’s Grille House & Sports Bar, a franchisor of 18 locations in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

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