North Raleigh Today

In the midst of the holiday season, Black Friday and Cyber Monday arise, putting local small businesses under the radar. However, Small Business Saturday is gaining traction in North Carolina, backed by widespread support from locals and state officials.

As we delve into the impact of Small Business Saturday on local economies, Small Business Saturday is lined up perfectly with one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year. Many local shops and businesses still offer the discounts any bigger company would. Shawn Smith, a shopper on Black Friday, quoted in an ABC 11 article that shopping small is a way to interact with the local community and a way for them to interact with their shoppers, according to ABC 11.

Moving forward, it's worth noting how small businesses view customer support, Small businesses want these shoppers to realize how important their support is for their business and surrounding community. Downtown Raleigh has close to one hundred small businesses, according to ABC 11. A worker at one of these small businesses, Abby Zeunger, quoted on ABC 11 "Sixty to seventy of them are going to be local Raleigh, North Carolina brands and so it is huge; not just for us, not just for the businesses around us but also for our employees who are all locals and for the brands that we carry," said Zeunger.

Lastly, let's examine some hard facts about how crucial these establishments are to our economy, These small businesses play a vital role in our economy even if it isn’t readily apparent. In a Commerce NC Gov report, they state these small businesses provide roles of creation, innovation and contribution across all of North Carolina. A small business is defined as one having fewer than 500 employees according to US Census Bureau's Quarterly Workforce Indicators. In North Carolina, about 45% of the state's employment comes from these enterprises.