Alaska’s Small Business Development Center is encouraging residents to shop local this holiday season.
Small Business Saturday is an annual nationwide event held the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The event was founded by American Express, a nationwide bank, in 2010 as a way to uplift small businesses between Black Friday and Cyber Monday — making up the largest holiday shopping weekend of the year.
This year, a record 183 million people are expected to shop over Thanksgiving weekend, according to the National Retail Federation.
In Alaska, local businesses embrace Small Business Saturday in creative ways, said Jon Bittner, director of Alaska’s Small Business Development Center, which provides advice to small businesses across the state.
“I’m always surprised at how much businesses embrace this, even independently. I just heard about a local game store, Tier 1, that’s doing a small business luau for Small Business Saturday,” he said. “People are having specials, doing competitions, it’s a really fun day all around.
Last year, almost all of Alaska businesses were classified as small, and employed a total of nearly 140,000 people, according to the center. When you shop at a local business, 63 cents of every dollar stays in the local economy, compared to 22 cents when you buy at a national chain.
Bittner said it’s always important to support local businesses year-round.
“These are the businesses that we think of when we think of what makes our town special,” he said.
He said right now many businesses are grappling with higher operating costs, and most small businesses can’t absorb those costs as easily as larger businesses.
“It’s not doom and gloom, but it’s something we have to keep a track of and really try to address and help support these businesses through these times and get through to the other side,” he said.
He said supporting small businesses can be simple, like shopping at a toy store instead of ordering items online, sharing a post on social media, or dining at a local restaurant instead of a national drive-thru chain.
The Anchorage Downtown Partnership has put together a map of businesses downtown holding events for Small Business Saturday. Check it out here.
Among this weekend’s local craft markets:
• Crafted in Alaska Market at the Anchorage Museum: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday
• Hotel Captain Cook Holiday Bazaar: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday
• 49th State Brewing Downtown Holiday Market: Noon to 5 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday
• Small Business Saturday Market at The Nave Spenard: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday
Ava White reports on economics and hosts the statewide morning news at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at awhite@alaskapublic.org or 907-550-8445. Read more about Ava here.
