Don’t Forget Small Business Saturday

by Minnie Payne

Before COVID-19, on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, you found sleepy-eyed people gathered outside their favorite store, some waiting many hours for the doors to swing open in search for high-end and one-of-a-kind items. To some, the “rush” that they received in saving sometimes large sums of money or finding something unique at a good price was worth it. In 2020, COVID-19 changed Black Friday and Small Business Saturday drastically. People, as well as businesses, no longer recommend crowds and as a result, retailers now offer season-long deals marathons. BlackFriday.com predicts that 2021 will bring the same thing. The public no longer has to worry because merchants will again stretch the holiday season into an early and long Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. For various reasons, currently, many U.S. families’ budgets are stretched, and saving $200 on a computer for a college-age son or daughter is important. Jodi Graf, business manager for a retirement community, and her adult son of Willis awakened early on Small Business Saturday to patronize Mom-and-Pop stores and find gems. “We like small businesses and getting up in the middle of the night and mingling with the crowd to find perfect one-of-a-kind gifts at reduced prices was worth it. It was sort of a tradition. I feel that we need to support small businesses because they are the backbone of our country.” As it is known today, merchants’ “Black Friday” officially takes place the day after Thanksgiving, but since 2013, Black Friday Sales by some stores start on Thanksgiving or earlier. Currently, the term “Black Friday” relates to businesses recording sales either in red (losses) or black (profits) and since retailers’ highest profits are on Black Friday, the name stuck. But in reality, the term “Black Friday” was first used on Sept. 24, 1869, by investors Jay Gould and Jim Fisk who drove up the price of gold and caused a stock market crash to the tune of 20 percent and foreign trade stopped. Farmers took a 50 percent dip in wheat and corn harvest value. Although Philadelphia merchants attempted to change the name to “Big Friday,” it never caught on and. by the late 1980s, “Black Friday” became nationally known with the “red to black” backstory. In the 1950s, Philadelphia police dubbed “Black Friday” when they controlled large crowds of shoppers and traffic for long hours when tourists went to the city on the Friday between Thanksgiving and Saturday’s Army-Navy game. A great many people prefer shopping all-important Mom-andPop stores’ Small Business Saturday. The event always took place on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and as it is known today, not only you but the small business and your community benefit. For the people in your life who have everything, Mom-and-Pop stores offer unique choices at affordable prices.

Liz Finn, housewife, and mother of four children who lives in Conroe patronized both Black Friday and Small Business Saturday but presently, only shops Small Business Saturday. “I prefer Small Business Saturday because I have friends who own small businesses and large corporations sometimes hire unauthorized labor to make products.” In 2010, American Express started Small Business Saturday and each year U.S. businesses offer special deals and discounts, free products and/or food and drink along with holiday treats at greatly reduced prices. Numerous one-of-a-kind products and services are offered, which create jobs. A delicious dinner with your loved one(s) or finding a beautiful/ unique handmade piece of jewelry for a loved one is something you should not pass up. You benefit from your local brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday but shopping at Mom-and-Pop stores on Small Business Saturday benefits you and your community and makes a big impact on our economy. Stocks are also impacted. According to Investopedia, each holiday season, prognosticators make predictions about the level of sales on Black Friday, and investor confidence is possibly affected by whether or not those expectations are met or exceeded. For example, if consumers spend a lot of money and retailers show strong profits, investors may see their first indication that a good profitable shopping season.is shaping up. Retailers that post strong sales might realize confidence reflected in their stock prices. So, happy shopping, everyone, and as a precaution, wear your

masks.