In honor of the 10th annual Small Business Saturday®, taking
place on November 30, American Express is illuminating the
challenges and opportunities facing small business owners today, as
well as educating consumers on the positive impact of shopping
small year-round.
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the full release here:
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With the state of retail changing – from rising rents to
shifting consumer behavior – and many communities experiencing
shuttering shops, support of small businesses is vital.
According to the Shop Small® Consumer Impact survey from
American Express, 73% of people feel that empty storefronts are a
national issue and 84% agree that the increase in empty storefronts
and closing of small, independently owned businesses negatively
affects their local community.1
“We recognize the hardships faced by small business owners today
and want to inspire people to take notice and Shop Small to support
their communities on Small Business Saturday and beyond,” said
Elizabeth Rutledge, Chief Marketing Officer at American Express.
“Retail is changing, but local shops are the fabric of our
communities, helping them to thrive in the future is part of our
brand ethos and backing promise.”
An average of $0.67 of every dollar spent at a small business in
the U.S. ends up staying in that local community,2 but the impact
does not stop there. The Shop Small Consumer Impact Survey from
American Express found that when consumers are aware of their
impact, 75% say they would be more likely to purchase a product or
service from a small independently owned business1. Over the past 9
years, consumers reported spending more than $100 billion at small
businesses on Small Business Saturday3. Based on that reported
spend, and taking into account that an average of two-thirds of
every dollar spent at a small business stays in that community2, an
estimated $67 billion has stayed local on Small Business Saturday,
helping communities thrive.
Thousands of community organizations across the nation have
already pledged to be Neighborhood Champions this year, committing
to host events and activities on Small Business Saturday to rally
their communities and increase awareness of the benefits of
shopping small with consumers.
For the 10th annual Small Business Saturday, American Express
has developed an interactive experience and handbook to help small
businesses prepare for the future of shopping small. The company is
also committing to making shopping small a year-long movement and
will launch a marketing campaign to bring greater awareness to the
impact we all can make in our local communities when we Shop
Small.
The Big Future of Shopping Small:
American Express is raising awareness of the issues impacting
small businesses and helping companies future proof their business
through guides, grants and insights.
- Interactive Experience: American Express is partnering
with trend forecasting company, WGSN, to inform consumers and small
business owners what the future of shopping small could look like
over the next 10 years. The unique retail experience located in New
York City (632 Broadway New York, NY 10012) will include: AI &
AR retail technologies, reimagined physical retail spaces, clothing
from zero waste clothing manufacturing and more. The experience
will be open to the public on November 23, 24, 30 and December 1
from 11am to 6pm ET.
- Guide: With insights garnered from WGSN, American
Express is backing small businesses by creating a Future of
Shopping Small Guide filled with actionable tips to help small
business owners begin to future-proof their businesses. This guide
will be widely available at
www.AmericanExpress.com/FutureofShoppingSmallGuide on November 22,
2019.
- Grant: American Express is also collaborating with Main
Street America (MSA) to give 10 small business owners a $10k grant
each to help their businesses innovate in this evolving retail
landscape. The grant program celebrates small businesses across the
country that have demonstrated new approaches to traditional retail
strategies and businesses that are looking to try out new
techniques. The application to apply for this grant will be
available starting on November 30th at
www.AmericanExpress.com/FutureofRetailGuide. Deadline to apply is
March 31, 2020.
Shop Small Year-Round & Make An Impact
American Express is also increasing the company’s efforts to
support small businesses year-round by recognizing Card Member’s
spending at small merchants.
Starting this year through next, Card Members will see their
Shop Small spend add up through personalized email communications
and the American Express mobile experience. By showcasing the
impact Card Member spend has on their communities, American Express
hopes it inspires a conscious decision to Shop Small
year-round.
"We believe in backing small businesses because we know they
strengthen the communities where we live and work,” said Anna Marrs
President, Global Commercial Services at American Express. “By
educating our Card Members and consumers broadly to Shop Small on
Small Business Saturday and all year-round, we believe they will
see their neighborhoods thrive.”
ABOUT SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY
November 30th is the tenth annual Small Business Saturday,
proudly backed by American Express. Dedicated to supporting the
diverse range of local businesses that create jobs, help boost the
economy, and enhance neighborhoods around the country, Small
Business Saturday was created by American Express in 2010 in
response to small business owners’ most pressing need: getting more
customers. Learn more at and connect with us on ShopSmall.com,
instagram.com/shopsmall, facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday.
ABOUT SHOP SMALL
Shop Small is a nationwide movement to support small,
independent businesses and call attention to the valuable and
distinct contributions they make to their communities and the
economy. Shop Small celebrates small businesses ranging from retail
stores and restaurants to fitness studios and salons, and
everything in between. The Shop Small movement was spurred by the
widespread participation in Small Business Saturday, a day founded
in 2010 by American Express. This national holiday shopping
tradition is dedicated to celebrating small businesses and driving
more customers through their doors on the Saturday after
Thanksgiving. November 30, 2019 marks the tenth annual Small
Business Saturday, proudly backed by American Express. Learn more
and connect with us on ShopSmall.com, instagram.com/shopsmall,
facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday.
ABOUT WGSN
WGSN is the authority on consumer and design trends, helping
brands across the globe design and create on-trend products and
experiences. Services cover consumer insights, fashion, beauty and
lifestyle forecasting, data analytics, crowdsourced design
validation and expert advisory services. WGSN is an Ascential
company. Visit wgsn.com.
ABOUT ASCENTIAL PLC
WGSN is part of Ascential (LSE:ASCL.L), a specialist global
information company that helps the world’s most ambitious
businesses win in the digital economy. Ascential information,
insights, connections, data and digital tools solve customer
problems in three disciplines: Product Design via global trend
forecasting service WGSN; Marketing via global benchmark for
creative excellence and effectiveness Cannes Lions and WARC and
strategic advisory firm MediaLink; and Sales via ecommerce-driven
data, insights and advisory service Edge by Ascential, leading
managed services provider for Amazon Flywheel Digital, the world’s
premier payments and Fin Tech congress Money20/20, global retail
industry summit World Retail Congress and retail news outlet Retail
Week. Ascential also powers political, construction and
environmental intelligence brands DeHavilland, Glenigan and
Groundsure.
ABOUT MAIN STREET AMERICA
Main Street America has been helping revitalize older and
historic commercial districts for close to 40 years. Today it is a
network of more than 1,600 neighborhoods and communities, rural and
urban, who share a commitment to building stronger communities
through preservation-based economic development. Main Street
America is a program of the nonprofit National Main Street Center,
Inc., a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic
Preservation.
1 The 2019 Shop Small Consumer Impact Survey was conducted by
Morning Consult on behalf of American Express between October 3-7,
2019 and interviewed of a nationally representative sample of 2,200
American adults 18 years of age or older online. The data were
weighted to approximate a target sample of U.S. adults based on
age, educational attainment, gender, race, and region. Results from
the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2
percentage points at the 95% level of confidence.
2 The 2018 Small Business Economic Impact Study was conducted by
Econsult Solutions, Inc. (ESI) on behalf of American Express. ESI
calculated the share of national Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
employment and employee compensation that small businesses with
under 100 employees provide to the economy based on an analysis
used by the U.S. Small Business Administration. ESI also estimated
how much of each dollar spent at the average small business remains
in their local community and used input-output analysis across 100
representative U.S. counties to calculate the additional impact
that is generated locally as the result of the spending of
employees and the spending of the small business with local
suppliers and service providers.
3 Based on nationally-representative surveys conducted on behalf
of American Express since 2012 on consumers’ self-reported spend on
Small Business Saturday, which does not reflect actual receipts or
sales.
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MEDIA
AMERICAN EXPRESS Megan Hunsicker 212-238-0291
megan.c.hunsicker@aexp.com
M BOOTH Lauren Arthur 212-539-3282 LaurenA@mbooth.com
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