Login
Last Tuesday we wrote about Small Business Saturday (SBS), a campaign launched in 2010 focused on encouraging people to patronize small businesses the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The results from this year’s Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey are in, and they reveal inspiring figures for small businesses and the public’s awareness and support of them.
The survey was conducted anonymously on November 29, 2015; the participant pool was comprised by 2,363 men and women who received an email invitation to the online survey.
Key survey findings:
- Over 95 million people shopped at small businesses on Small Business Saturday; an eight percent increase in small business buyer participation from last year
- More than 4,100 Neighborhood Champions participated in raising awareness of small businesses in their communities, marking a 48 percent increase in participation from last year
- The amount consumed by shoppers who were aware of Small Business Saturday was $16.2 billion; a 14 percent increase from 2014’s number of $14.3 billion
- Over 425 organizations joined the Small Business Saturday Coalition, an 11 percent increase from last year
- Of Small Business Saturday shoppers, 31 percent were attendees at community events and 81 percent encouraged friends and family to patronize small businesses
- In November, there were 85 million social media posts supporting Small Business Saturday
- In support of Small Business Saturday, President Obama shopped at a local bookstore and had dinner at a local popsicle shop in Washington, D.C.
These survey findings are heartening for our nation’s small businesses. As the economy and market change, positively and negatively, it is important to take a proactive approach to help people and businesses with limited resources. As the survey affirms, by simply choosing to shop at a particular business, we can each be part of a movement with a tremendous impact.