It can be tough for small businesses to compete with multi-million-dollar corporations when it comes to winning customers for seasonal shopping. Small Business Saturday is meant to bring attention to small businesses and the revenue boost they give to local communities. This attention falls between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the “bargain weekend” that America has made of the Thanksgiving holiday and leads to consumer expectation of a discount or deal. Unfortunately, with the profitability of small businesses at only about 6%, the discount model used by “big box” stores is not a sustainable one for “mom and pop”.
Without the ability to compete for price (and remain in business), small businesses must set themselves apart by offering more unique and more specialized services while offering more extraordinary, individualized customer service. In a world of bargain-hunters, this is a difficult balance to achieve. The cost of doing business better is high, and comes at a premium.
We can’t speak for all retailers, but Ketterman’s goal is to offer fair prices that will permit us to stay in business for many years to come, Always. The purpose of shopping small is to support the economy of your local area. The best way to do this is to patronize these businesses year-round, understand the value of what they offer more than the price, and to share positive experiences with friends and loved ones (and negative ones with managers and owners). When it comes to “shopping small”, it is about thinking beyond price and about the families and community that these staples of local economy support. We are all in this together.
In Summary…
THINK BIG
For every $100 spent in a brick and mortar Small Businesses, $48 goes back into the community (compared to $14 for chain stores), not to mention philanthropy of the business owners.
SHOP SMALL
Visit your locally owned and operated retail store, bakery, restaurant, salon, or gallery and buy.
PAY FULL PRICE
The average profit for a small business is 6%. When you make purchases at a discount, this number decreases. If you want that business to remain, trust that the regular price is a fair one.
USE CASH
Using your credit card to pay costs the business owner between 2 and 3%.
