'Gets Us Through The Holiday Season': Small Business Saturday Big Deal For Many In Delaware Valley
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Shoppers were urged to support local stores on Saturday as part of national Small Business Saturday. It's the 10th year for this push, which is meant to give mom-and-pop retailers a boost over the holiday season.
After Black Friday, small business owners got their chance at the holiday shopping frenzy on Saturday.
"It's just kind of brings everybody out, which is cool," Nicole Rae Styer, who owns Nicole Rae Styer Boutique, said.
East Passyunk Avenue was packed on Saturday afternoon with shoppers supporting small businesses.
"Everybody's excited for different sales, different events throughout the day," Styer said.
Styer says the draw of shopping locally is the face-to-face interaction with the business owners.
"I love that you can find eclectic things that you can't find anywhere else," shopper Katey Stone said.
The National Retail Federation said over 66 million people were expected to pack into small businesses throughout the country on Saturday.
The small business love didn't end in Pennsylvania. Shops in Pitman, New Jersey, also got in on the action.
Shoppers at Restored Antiquity on Broadway were able to come home with equally eclectic gifts. The furniture restoration shop also sells home decor and tchotchkes.
"We have a special today, $5 off our workshops," Restored Antiquity owner Amanda Lampkin said.
They also host weekly workshops. Lampkin says Small Business Saturday is a big deal.
"It's always one of our biggest sales days of the year, which helps us out and gets us through the holiday season," she said.
Regardless of how much customers spend, those in the business community say the money is well spent. Nearly two-thirds of every dollar spent stays in the local community.
"It's local families. It's keeping the money local, within our communities," Greater Pitman Chamber of Commerce President Vanessa James said. "It's people that are donating to little leagues and participating as volunteers in the community."
