Some small business owners in Fort Pierce calling Shop Small Saturday better this year than last
Small Business Saturday was a good day for some business owners in downtown Fort Pierce.
Nov. 26 was Small Business Saturday, which is a day to celebrate and support small businesses
Officials with the non-profit organization Main Street Fort Pierce began preparing for this year's event in September.
Organizers started spreading the word, ordered paraphernalia and collected gift cards for the prize giveaway.
Becky Demanuel, owner of Chic and Shore Things, said it was an amazing day.
"It was almost 17% better this year than last year," Demanuel said. "It's actually my second busiest day out of the year as far as sales are concerned. This really is a boost for the downtown area."
The owner of Chaney's House O' Flowers, Karen Devries, said they tripled their numbers from last year.
SHOP SMALL: Business owners in Downtown Fort Pierce are ready for Shop Small Saturday
"I think with the advertising and people are wanting to shop and support local businesses more, we were open all day," DeVries said. "We kept advertising through social media and so on and I think it just brought more people down."
According to American Express, results of its Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey indicated 72% of shoppers said Small Business Saturday makes them want to shop and dine small.
Jan Russell works for the family business, Sweet's Jewelers. The business has been around since 1926.
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"Downtown was busy," Russell said. "It was like the old days."
Many local business owners look forward to Small Business Saturday.
The owner of Notions and Potions, Beryl Muise, said business was up about 10%.
She also says she was surprised at her Black Friday numbers.
"Our sales increased by almost 40% from Black Friday this year to the previous year," Muise said. "I think more people want to support shopping small and I think that proves it."