Black Friday may have been a bust, but Small Business Saturday surely wasn’t.
Shoppers showed no lack of local enthusiasm as they turned 2015’s Small Business Saturday into a record-breaker. Estimates peg the day’s spending at $16.2 billion, a 14 percent increase from 2014. And more than 95 million consumers shopped at small businesses, the most ever for Small Business Saturday.
Here are some other big takeaways from the sixth annual Small Business Saturday:
The government showed strong support. More than 200 federal officials and agencies posted support for Small Business Saturday on Facebook and Twitter, and elected officials in all 50 states shopped small on Nov. 28, Business Wire reported. Pres. Barack Obama was among those spotted shopping local, visiting two businesses with his daughters.
Big business helped small business. Over 100 large companies signed up to be “official supporters” of Small Business Saturday, Business Wire reported. Corporate supporters included AT&T, Eventbrite, Hertz, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and more.
Social media was key. Many small business owners have a limited advertising budget and capitalized on free publicity through social media instead, The Journal Times reported. More than 241,000 posts with Small Business Saturday related hashtags were posted on social media platforms in the month of November, Business Wire reported.
Here are some more highlights from the day, via Twitter’s #SmallBizSat hashtag:
Enjoyed a delicious cup of tea at Sip & Savor! #SmallBizSat #DineSmall pic.twitter.com/jYVW0zNCWT
— Valerie Jarrett (@vj44) November 28, 2015
Today is #SmallBizSat! I’m working with American Express 2 ?? fashion line #Demestiks! Where will u#ShopSmall 2day? https://t.co/Z84rwfMWa4
— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) November 28, 2015
Shop local. Shop Small. #SmallBizSat pic.twitter.com/BsKtZzzfBx
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) November 28, 2015
It’s #SmallBusinessSaturday, but these organizations support small businesses year-round https://t.co/MvlwGDpgzh
— Forbes (@Forbes) November 28, 2015
Happy small business saturday ! Each small business you see, someone made a courageous decision for it to exist. @shopsmall @smbizrevolution
— Robert Herjavec (@robertherjavec) November 28, 2015
Did you know that small businesses involved in the #Orion program @NASA are located in 47/50 states? #SmallBizSat pic.twitter.com/AFBQHaYSVw
— NASA Small Business (@NASA_OSBP) November 28, 2015
