Shop Local Promotion Boon to Local Business

While hoards of shoppers descended on malls and stores like Target and Wal-Mart on Black Friday, a number of Catonsville business owners were instead gearing up for a different kind of shopping event—Small Business Saturday.

Posting on his store’s Facebook page on Black Friday, Trax on Wax owner Gary Gebler had the following message for his local followers: “Shop small.”

“Don't forget to support a small business tomorrow,” Gebler wrote. “And if I should be so bold to suggest Trax on Wax as the small business you support tomorrow as there is none smaller than us! And if it can't be us, please support another small business.”

Gebler, who relies on a local customer base to keep his small record store in business, was one of many Catonsville merchants to embrace Small Business Saturday, a nationwide initiative promoted by American Express, which encourages consumers to shop at their favorite small stores as a means of promoting the local economy.

The initiative was rolled out last year to promote the idea that shopping local is integral to a community's success.

According to an American Express press release about the event, local retailers saw a nearly 30 percent jump in sales during last year's Small Business Saturday, compared to the same day in 2009.

In addition, 1.2 million people joined the movement and helped spread the word by "liking" Small Business Saturday on Facebook.

This year’s Small Business Saturday coincided with the .

Gebler said that while he promoted the event last year, this year proved to be much more of a boon for his business.

“A lot of people were talking about it this year where last year it seemed like it was just me,” he said. “The response was much better this year because it was much more widely known.”

Gebler promoted the event on Facebook and saw that devoted customers mentioned his store on their own sites.

“I thought that was touching,” he said, calling the day an “absolute” success.

Gebler saw a 20 percent jump in sales this year from the same day last year, with a lot of parents coming in to buy their kids music from the past.

However he did have one recommendation for the future of the initiative.

“I wish Small Business Saturday would be a little further away from Black Friday—a lot of people on Black Friday got burned out; we’re not a black Friday kind of store,” Gebler noted.

Reggie Sajauskas, owner of Objects Found, was another storeowner who promoted the initiative. Not only did she use Facebook to advertise the initiative but she went as far as hosting several activities throughout the day while serving wine and chocolate to shoppers. She also discounted store items.

“It was awesome,” she said, of the initiative, noting that sales on that day nearly doubled from a typical Saturday.

“I had people come to my store Sunday and Monday to say, ‘Gee, I’m sorry I didn’t make it Saturday but I’m here now,’” Sajauskas added.

However she did note that such good sales on that day do not necessarily predict a successful Christmas season for her business; for that type of prediction—she looks to the weather.

“The weather has been gorgeous and it has allowed people to come out to small businesses but if the weather changes it would allow people to go back to their computers or to the mall,” Sajauskas said. “I’m praying for the weather will stay how it is now.”

Bill's Music House was another store that took part in Small Business Saturday, but to less dramatic results.

“It was a good day there is no doubt about it,” general manager Brian Higgins said.

But Higgins could not say with certainty that the successful sales Saturday were due to the initiative.  

“Black Friday, Saturday and Sunday are always good days for us,” he said.

However like many other area merchants, Higgins stressed the advantages of to consumers of shopping local.

“That’s what we talk about all the time in here; the advantages of buying from us versus a chain store,” he said before noting that the store offers a multitude of services from instrument rentals to lessons.

“We offer a lot more variety,” he said. 

Higgins added he is optimistic about the upcoming shopping season.

“It looks like it’s going to be a strong Christmas season so we’re excited about that,” he said. “We’ve been busier this year than the last couple of years.”

In the meantime, some local shop owners say they were not aware of the initiative.

“We didn’t even really hear about it until this past week,” said Jon McCabe, owner of House of Time.

But McCabe said the initiative sounds like something he would promote in the future.

“Nothing can hurt, right?” he said.