Small Business Saturday

In 2010, American Express created Small Business Saturday, a huge new shopping day right after Black Friday. But 2011 would be the real test. Would SBS be just a one-off? To help it become an ongoing tradition, American Express brought together business owners, consumers, government officials, even big corporations to rally behind a day for small business. Amex also created tools to help business owners reach more customers, and help customers find more small businesses to shop at. Ultimately, over 100 million Americans shopped small, and Small Business Saturday cemented its place as a part of the holiday shopping season.

In 2010, American Express created Small Business Saturday, a day to support the local businesses that boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country.

In 2011, we shifted the focus to help small businesses promote themselves and created Shop Small.

A suite of tools was developed to help business owners reach more customers, and help customers find more small businesses to shop at. Over 100 million Americans shopped small in 2011 cementing Small Business Saturday’s place as a part of the holiday shopping season and launched Shop Small as an evergreen program.