'Shop Small' Nov. 30 in Niagara River Region

The Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce has been busy promoting "Small Business Saturday" with the hope of making the date the biggest local shopping day of the year. "Small Business Saturday" is celebrated each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (right after "Black Friday").

The chamber has encouraged members to assist in building enthusiasm for the day by educating customers about the importance of supporting local businesses when shopping this holiday season. Many members have downloaded the marketing material from the "Shop Small" website (www.shopsmall.com). The chamber has also been fortunate to receive welcome mats, shopping bags, pens, decals, balloons and more as a recognized distributor of material to promote the day. Social media also has been a great way to showcase the day with easy-to-recognize tags such as: #shopsmall, #nov30 and #smallbizsat.

Many retailers have created special promotions within their business for the day, which can be found on the chamber website at www.NiagaraRiverRegion.com.

"Small Business Saturday" was founded by American Express in 2010. The day was created to support small businesses by driving people everywhere to get out and "Shop Small" in their neighborhood.

"The 'Shop Small' movement is a great way for our small, locally owned businesses to get creative and give shoppers a reason to spend with them. American Express has created a great national campaign to encourage people to shop on Nov. 30, and provides an easy way for businesses to market themselves with resources and material online at www.ShopSmall.com. The Niagara River Region is the perfect place for people to experience how small businesses create unique and thriving communities," said Jennifer Pauly, president of the Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce.