Small Business Saturday an opportunity for downtown Wisconsin businesses to shine

MADISON, Wis. (Civic Media) – Small Business Saturday returns Nov. 30, a designation that originated over a decade ago as a way to funnel more holiday shopping to local businesses across the country on the day after Black Friday.

In Wisconsin, the day is an opportunity for downtown businesses to shine, according to Anne Wiegman of the Wisconsin Downtown Action Council.

“I think when you can have a day like this, when maybe you need something at a shoe store, so you go downtown to your local shoe store, well then you see, oh, and I could stop in this store and this store, and you see it’s not that there’s only one store in your downtown,” Wiegman said. “There are in fact a number of businesses, and even besides the stores, you know, you have the restaurants, you have the bars, you have the entertainment options, whether it’s a diner or whatever, there’s just a large variety in our downtowns.”

In Wisconsin, small businesses make up the vast majority of all businesses in the state and employ over 1.3 million people, according to data from the Small Business Administration.

“We’re really, really very lucky in Wisconsin at the variety that is included in those downtowns,” Wiegman added.

Small Business Saturday began in 2010 as a promotion by American Express and was adopted a year later by the federal government. The total amount spent last year at small businesses on the day was about $17 billion, and since 2010, it’s estimated that Small Business Saturday as drummed up over $200 billion in sales.

“When American Express started this in 2010 and started advertising Small Business Saturdays, I said, wow, this an event that is made for downtowns, because in Wisconsin, about 90 percent of the businesses that are downtown are locally-owned,” Wiegman said. “It’s a pretty big impact.”

Shopping locally also has its benefits, Wiegman said, because you’re getting service that you can’t get from online retailers.

“You will realize that there are really some great stores downtown, and when you are shopping in that store, you’re probably going to be waited on by the owner, or the owner’s wife, or someone who has really worked there a long time, so they really know what they’re talking about,” Wiegman said. “They know where that product was made, or how it was made, and what makes it special, and they really want to help you get what you want.”

The Wisconsin Downtown Action Council posts events and has a news and event page on its website to encourage state residents to shop locally throughout the year, but Wiegman said that because nearly every community in Wisconsin has embraced Small Business Saturday – “about 90, 95 percent of them” – she recommends visiting your local Chamber of Commerce or Downtown website to find out what’s happening where you live.