More Locals Plan to Shop on Small Business Saturday than Black Friday

Bankrate’s research reveals:

• Nearly three-quarters (72%) of shoppers plan to do at least some shopping with a small business this year, up from 65% last year.
• Overall, 81% of shoppers plan to shop on at least one of these big shopping days: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday or Cyber Monday.
• Younger generations lead the way on Small Business Saturday shopping, with 72% of millennials and 69% of Gen Z planning to shop that day, compared to 59% of Gen X and 51% of baby boomers.
• More than a third (37%) of holiday shoppers plan to get most of their shopping done in November.
• There’s an even split of shoppers planning to shop in person versus online, 72% for both.
• People prefer brick-and-mortar stores for small businesses, as 51% would shop small in person and 44% would shop small online.
• Older generations are also more likely to shop in person, with 46% of baby boomers and 45% of Gen Xers planning to shop in person, compared to 36% of Gen Z.
• Nearly all (96%) holiday shoppers feel small businesses provide better experiences and customer service than large businesses.
• The top reasons people like to shop small are the shop’s unique gift ideas (56%), customer service (54%) and fostering a sense of community (44%).

Source: Bankrate