Shop ‘Till You Drop
Supporting local businesses on Small Business Saturday.
One of the joys of traveling can be found by exploring local shops that highlight the products and culture of your destination. With the proliferation of corporate chain stores and online shopping, the excitement of locating the perfect gift in a local store and interacting with the shop owner is a shopping experience that is becoming increasingly rare.
To encourage this commerce during the holiday season, StayLocal is kicking off Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28th with a Small Business Saturday Second Line at 11:00 am, departing from Community Book Center at 2523 Bayou Road. WWOZ 90.7 FM and the Soul Brass Band will be there to support the StayLocal Krewe and holiday shoppers as they shop New Orleans-style.
“The essence of Small Business Saturday is celebrating and promoting our local economy of independent businesses,” says Charlotte Gill, program manager at StayLocal. “Many stores make the majority of their revenue in Q4 so it’s vitally important to kick off the holiday shopping season by making purchases at local retailers. As greater New Orleans’ independent business alliance, Stay Local’s core objective is to advocate for ‘shopping small.’”
According to StayLocal, polling done by the Center for Community Disaster Research revealed that after Hurricanes Katrina and Isaac devastated parts of South Louisiana, supporting New Orleans' local economy is of great concern to many tourists in the Big Easy. Visitors are savvy and want to tune into the local culture of their destination. Shopping small and supporting the local New Orleans economy help tourists feel that their money is being spent to improve neighborhoods and restore an economy that was once washed away.
StayLocal supports all its member businesses on Small Business Saturday. Starting Friday night they will be tweeting around the clock to promote in-store deals around town. You can also check out their "Local NOLA Present Picks 2015" Pinterest Board for local gift giving inspiration exclusively from independent New Orleans retailers.
Gill says, “New Orleans has incredible local shopping and multiple shopping corridors that make it possible for families to begin and end their holiday shopping in a just a few blocks, and maintain their sanity and your holiday cheer! For example, on the west end of Magazine Street near Whole Foods, shoppers can enjoy Christmas Caroling all day long on Small Business Saturday.”
Small Business Saturday takes place annually the day after Black Friday. Over the past five years it has grown into a national movement to shine light on small businesses around the country. In New Orleans, StayLocal, Broad Community Connections and WWOZ 90.7 FM teamed up with American Express to help independent businesses grow their revenue over this key weekend.
