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Nov. 24—SUNBURY — The first big holiday shopping weekend of the year continues today with Small Business Saturday.
The event, started by American Express in 2010 and officially cosponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration in 2011, sits between Black Friday and Cyber Monday and focuses on downtown shops in communities nationwide.
For local businesses, it's part of the beginning of a weekslong tidal wave that leads up to the Christmas holiday.
For Jason Bailets, owner of Sports Zone Toys & Comics in Sunbury, Small Business Saturday represents a low point for a busy weekend. The shop will be open normal hours, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
"It's hard because a lot of people shop on Black Friday so you find that Saturday is a lot slower, so we're not nearly as busy as we are on Friday," Bailets said. "Then we get a surge again on Monday for Cyber Monday, so Small Business Saturday is definitely the least of the three."
Bailets, who said he will have sales on sports cards and other items in the store along with gift bags, said customers kept him on the move all day on Black Friday, coming in one after another.
"We try to do some extras to get people excited, but it's definitely hard with Black Friday before it," he said.
Last year, the Saturday event drove an estimated $17.9 billion in consumer spending in the U.S., according to American Express's consumer insights survey. According to the poll, 72 percent of shoppers said Small Business Saturday makes them want to shop and dine at small, independently-owned retailers and restaurants all year long and the same amount strongly agreed they would shop small throughout the holiday season.
According to research released by the credit firm following last year's event, if every Generation Z and millennial shopper spent $10 at a small business on Small Business Saturday, it would support $2 billion in local economic activity nationwide. The company also reported that 68 cents of every dollar spent at small businesses stays in local communities.
Jasmine-Aire Boutique in Sunbury will also be open normal hours, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
According to owner Nova Sterner, the shop will offer the same deals today as it did on Black Friday, 15 percent off everything in the store and a flash sale from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. when everything will be 25 percent off. Sterner said the flash sale was a hit on Black Friday.
"Last year, we saw a little bit of an increase (on Small Business Saturday) but we've really been trying to take advantage of our social media and advertising and trying to get people to know," Sterner said. "So many people have known about the place because they've been coming here since they were a kid. Some people just know it from town. We've been starting to try to get into some of the colleges that are around the area. (And) anybody who hasn't been in in a long time."