SOUTH DAKOTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration is encouraging Americans to support local communities by shopping at small businesses on Saturday, November 28, 2020, and throughout the holiday season. Celebrated each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Small Business Saturday is a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities.
This year, small businesses need consumer support more than ever as they navigate, retool and pivot from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Small businesses are the anchors in local communities across South Dakota, playing a vital role in the state’s economy.
Today, there are over 30.7 million small businesses in the United States and half of all America’s workers are either employed by a small business or own a small business. South Dakota is the home to over 88,000 small businesses that are major providers of residents’ everyday needs when it comes to goods and services. Nationally, two out of three new jobs are created by small business. South Dakota small businesses employ over 58% of all South Dakota employees (South Dakota Small Business Profile).
“The U.S. Small Business Administration celebrates the small businesses that continue to ignite our local economies and enrich our communities throughout the year,” said SBA South Dakota District Director Jaime Wood. “Shopping small has a significant and positive effect that resonates across South Dakota, and Small Business Saturday amplifies that effect during the holiday shopping season and beyond. Consumers should feel very good about shopping small!”
Since 2011, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has been a formal cosponsor of Small Business Saturday, which was founded by American express. In 2019, shoppers spent a record $19.6 billion at local establishments on Small Business Saturday according to the 2019 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey commissioned by American Express and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The survey also found that 97% of consumers who shopped on Small Business Saturday agreed that small businesses are essential to their community.
