The holidays are nearly here and small business owners are equal parts excited and nervous about what a final holiday shopping push could mean for their future.
Seventy-eight percent of small businesses say holiday sales will impact their ability to keep their doors open in 2022, according to the American Express Shop Small Impact survey. These last minute holiday shoppers can add billions to the bottom line: consumers shopping small have the potential to contribute an estimated $695 billion into the U.S. small business economy.
COVID has forced many to change their spending habits, but it’s also been an opportunity to be more intentional about where those dollars are going, says Olivia Hall, director of marketing at VizyPay, a small business solutions service.
“If we're not investing in the people that are building where we live and determine the future of our community, then that's a problem,” Hall says. “So we’re trying to spread that message just as loud as possible and help to negate our consumer choices of being more mindful when we purchase.”
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VizyPay provides the technology and support to help small businesses accept credit card payments. In 2019, the company launched their Look Local First campaign — an initiative where the company spotlights different local businesses across the country, while teaching consumers how to shop small. This initiative has taken on even greater importance in the wake of the pandemic, which disproportionately impacted small businesses when compared to larger, more accessible chains.
Fortunately, in spite of the damage the pandemic caused to small businesses, it also prompted consumers to care more about where they’re spending their money, Hall says.
“2021 was really the first timeframe that we've had where people kind of slowed down and understood that their spending habits should have more intent behind it,” Hall says. “It kind of puts things into perspective that if I don't take action, nobody else is going to.”
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On top of the more obvious approaches, such as personally making the choice to shop small, VizyPay also recommends that people leave likes and comments on local businesses’ social media pages as well as sharing as many posts as they can and gifting loved ones gift cards for local shops instead of for bigger chains.
Unlike their enterprise counterparts, small businesses operate on tighter budgets, specifically when it comes to their marketing abilities, according to Hall. Word of mouth can go a long way to creating visibility for local shops and entrepreneurs.
“Speaking about local businesses and sharing the ones that we love — that costs us nothing as a consumer,” Hall says. “But it helps keep them going.”
