Taking Stock of Small Business Saturday

The very first Small Business Saturday, courtesy of the branding folks at American Express, is over. So did it do as it intended and lure more shoppers into the privately run boutiques, the mom-and-pop stores, the independent non-big-box retailers? Judging from a review of local stories from various publications around the country, the answer is resounding "meh."

The following is a sample of local media reports. The text comes directly from the sources:

Eagle Rock Patch (Eagle Rock, California): At 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 27, Colorado Boulevard and Eagle Rock Boulevard resembled ghost towns. What little foot traffic there was seemed to be marching straight past the storefronts and heading into such eateries as Four Café, Camilo's or the Colorado Wine Company. Angelyn de la Garza, the owner of Kumquat, the children's clothing outlet on Eagle Rock Boulevard, shrugged noncommittally when asked about her store's Black Saturday traffic. "It was average but not better than normal," she said, with a sigh. "I was hoping it would be better." (Click here for the full story from EagleRockPatch.com.)

Half Moon Bay Patch (Half Moon Bay, Calfornia): P. Cottontail & Co store owner Sandra Murphy first heard about the American Express promotion on the radio and was happy to participate, but expected "it will take off more next year and the year after as more people learn about it," she said. "If more people do it, then perhaps we could have our own specials as well. We're not going to open at 4 a.m. like a big box store, but we could offer specials, post signage, and really get into it." (Click here for the full story from HalfMoonBayPatch.com.)

The Register Mail (Galesburg, Illinois): “It’s not something that was publicized very much,” said Dennis Case, owner of Casey’s Party Creations and president of the Galesburg Business Association, who had heard about the event only a few days before. Business, he said, had been slower than usual. “The big box stores have this weekend and I don’t know that small businesses could crack that nut,” he said. (Click here for the full story from Galesburg.com)

WBOY (Buckhannon, West Virginia): “For every $100 spent in your local community, $68 of that stays by taxes, employees, and utilities in local communities. Versus you go to a big corporation and only $14 of that is going to stay,” Bethany Long of Hometown Market said. The community isn't the only entity that reaps the benefits of small business; customers do too. “You get to know your neighbor. You know more about your products. Goat’s milk soaps that we make here locally, from the goat’s milk. Things like that are cheaper and they’re a higher quality product,” Long said. (Click here for the full story from WBOY.com.)

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania): Owners of the Children's Boutique in Center City put out a sidewalk sign and hung balloons on it: "Small Business Saturday: Deal." ... (But) in Center City, few stores seemed to be advertising the campaign, and some merchants were not aware of it. Those that were said they were grateful for the positive attention. "We're happy with the idea," said Linda Berman, owner of the Children's Boutique. "There aren't a lot of individually owned companies on this street. We are one of few, and we are proud of it." (Read the full story from Philly.com.)

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