Sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday — historically the biggest and busiest retail days of the year — there’s another standout shopping event: Small Business Saturday. Started by American Express in 2010 and co-sponsored by the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) since 2011, Small Business Saturday aims to create awareness about the impact shoppers have when they buy “small” year round, whether they physically visit stores or shop online.
This year, 85% of consumers say they’re likely to shop “small” during the holiday season, according to the American Express 2023 Shop Small Impact Study. That represents a multibillion dollar opportunity — consumers are expected to spend an estimated $125 billion at small businesses this holiday season, up 42% from $88 billion in 2022, as reported by Intuit QuickBooks.
We spoke with experts about resources you can use to support small businesses and what impact your purchases have. We also rounded up some Select-staff favorite products from small businesses we love.
SKIP AHEAD What is a small business | Select’s favorite small businesses | Current state of small businesses | How to support small businesses year round