What is Small Business Saturday?

Small Business Saturday is an American shopping holiday held on the Saturday after U.S. Thanksgiving during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year.

First observed on November 27, 2010, it is a counterpart to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which feature big box retail and e-commerce stores respectively. By contrast, Small Business Saturday encourages holiday shoppers to patronize brick and mortar businesses that are small and local.

Small Business Saturday UK began in the UK in 2013 after the success of Small Business Saturday in America.

Small Business Saturday UK is a grassroots, non-political, non-commercial campaign, which highlights small business success and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses in their communities. The day itself takes place on the first shopping Saturday in December each year, but the campaign aims to have a lasting impact on small businesses. In 2014 Small Business Saturday UK will take place on Saturday December 6th.

Small Business Saturday is a celebration of small businesses across the UK, both on the day and beyond. Small Business Saturday encourages consumers to “shop local” and support their local communities, as well as giving small businesses a great opportunity for visibility and promotion.

According to research undertaken by campaign supporter American Express in the 24 hours following the UK’s first Small Business Saturday, just under half (48%) of UK consumers were aware of the day of which, over half (57%) shopped at a local, independently owned business.

Senior politicians led by the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Ed Milliband; Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne; Secretary of State for Business, Vince Cable; Chuka Umunna, the Shadow Business Secretary and Matthew Hancock, the Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise, all took to the streets to encourage consumers to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses.