NORTH CAROLINA – Affectionately sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday is a day dedicated to shopping at local, independently owned businesses.

 

What You Need To Know

  • Nov. 26 is Small Business Saturday, a shopping holiday dedicated to supporting local, independently owned businesses
  • More than 166 million people are expected to shop between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation
  • Shop Small Saturdays kicks off in Charlotte’s South End on Small Business Saturday to highlight the local businesses in the Queen City and surrounding areas

 

Altogether, between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, more than 166 million people are expected to shop, according to the National Retail Federation. That number is 8 million higher than 2021, and the most since the company began tracking these numbers in 2017.

With all that spending, Small Business Saturday was created in 2010 by American Express to encourage keeping money within local communities.

Megan Gude, vice president of South End in Charlotte, says shopping local is important no matter where you live.

“We know that small businesses are part of what make our cities and our neighborhoods really special, really great,” Gude said. “Also, the money that we spend at small businesses, a lot more of that dollar stays within our local communities, reinvested in jobs and all kinds of other things that make our communities great.”

While you can find deals across the state on Nov. 26, the deals will continue for the next two Saturdays on Dec. 4 and Dec. 10 in Charlotte’s South End.

The neighborhood is celebrating its 10th year of Shop Small Saturdays; an open-air shopping market featuring more than 100 local vendors, live entertainment and more.

After a difficult couple years with the pandemic and inflation, Gude says shopping local is more important than ever.

“Each purchase you make at a small business here makes a really big difference in how that individual business is able to maintain jobs and pay rent and keep their doors open,” Gude said. “And then those businesses are what animates the street. When you go visit any one of the neighborhoods in our city, you want the experiences you can have when you walk in a local shop.”

Details about parking, times, locations and offerings for Shop Small Saturdays can be found here.