Evanston Small Business Saturday 2018: Shop Local, Get Rewarded

EVANSTON, IL — You may not realize it, but our independently owned boutiques, gift shops and mom-and-pop hardware stores struggle mightily to compete against malls, big box stores and online retailers. Small Business Saturday, held annually on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, was created to give these smaller enterprises a boost, and in Evanston, dozens of locally owned businesses are participating in the Nov. 24 event.

Downtown Evanston businesses are offering the chance to pick up a "We Love Evanston Shopping Passport" at many participating businesses to collect stamps where you shop. Shoppers who spend $100 across one or multiple local businesses will receive a tote bag filled with complimentary items. The passports can be turned in for gift bags between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. at One River School, 1033 Davis St. (Food, drinks and services are not included in the passport offer. Find more info and where to pick up a passport.)

Shoppers can also pick up a game board from 40 businesses taking part in the Monopoly on the Mile event from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., sponsored by the Main-Dempster Mile. Spend $100 at participating business for a gift bag, with the first dozen containing gift cards to business on the mile.

The Central Street Business Association is also participating, with a Holiday Open House planned.

American Express established Small Business Saturday in 2010 to help local businesses reeling from the Great Recession. The U.S. Senate passed a resolution a year later encouraging businesses in all 50 states to participate in what has morphed into a nationwide “shop small” movement. Last year, some 7,200 local businesses in all 50 states participated.

What’s happened during the history of Small Business Saturday has helped independent retailers and restaurants keep their doors open. Their customers have spent an estimated $85 billion during the first eight Small Business Saturday events, according to American Express.

“Shopping small has a significant and positive effect on local communities, and we hope Small Business Saturday will help to amplify that effect during the crucial holiday shopping season,” Elizabeth Rutledge, chief marketing officer at American Express, said in a statement. “When we spend local, small businesses thrive. And when small businesses thrive, we all thrive.”

A new study commissioned by American Express shows that U.S. small businesses contribute $4.8 trillion to the GDP, equivalent to that of Japan, which has the third-largest economy in the world. The Small Business Economic Impact Study takes a county-level look at the economic benefits of shopping locally and how vital small businesses are to communities.

Among the findings:

• An average of two-thirds of every dollar spent at small businesses in the United States stays in the community.
• Every dollar spent at a small business creates an additional 50 cents in local business activity as a result of employee spending and businesses purchasing local goods and services.
• In addition to small businesses directly employing members of the community, spending by those small businesses and their employees in the area also supports jobs. In fact, the study found, for every 10 jobs at a small business, another seven are supported in the local community.

This year, 88 percent of Illinois consumers surveyed by American Express and its partner, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, said they think Small Business Saturday has improved their communities. The survey found 93 percent of Illinoisans value the local contributions of small businesses and 89 percent of consumers in the state said small businesses are essential to their community. However, only 54 percent of Illinoisans said that they would be very or somewhat likely to seek out a small, independent retailer when shopping online on Small Business Saturday.

Nationwide, 59 percent of respondents to the 2018 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey expected to shop online on Small Business Saturday, and 40 percent said they plan to shop on a small retailer’s website on Cyber Monday, observed on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Retailers that buy in bulk may be able offer a lower price — or not — but there’s more at stake for independent businesses.

“For small business owners, their business is not just a business,” American Express says. “To them, it is an extension of who they are. Giving the local businesses within your community a chance is crucial to not only their survival, but to give them an opportunity to win you over as a customer.”

Did we miss any Small Business Saturday events in Evanston? Tell us about them in the comments, or better yet, post them directly on the Evanston Patch Calendar.

Beth Dalbey contributed