Local Shops Ready for Small Business Saturday

While many people are headed to the stores today for Black Friday, tomorrow is Small Business Saturday.

It was started in 2010 by American Express as a way to encourage holiday shoppers to spend their dollars at small, local, independently owned businesses.

Main Street Toccoa is joining many other communities in promoting Small Business Saturday.

According to Main Street Director Connie Tabor, many downtown Toccoa businesses will be open on Saturday.

Tabor said she encourages people to shop in Stephens County on Saturday.

“We do want to encourage everybody to support our locals first before you go out of town,” said Tabor. “Look and see what they have to offer. You will be pleasantly surprised at the goods and services that are available.”

Tabor went on to say that when people spend money at a local, independent business, that has a tremendous follow-up impact on the local economy.

“We found that on an average, 48 percent of each purchase at a local, independent business is re-circulated locally, compared to a chain business, which is about 14 percent,” said Tabor.

American Express said that in 2014, an estimated $14.3 billion was spent at small independent businesses on Small Business Saturday.