Editorial

Help make Small Business Saturday a success

Posted

At least one holiday commercial aired before many children headed back to school from their summer vacations: Kmart rolled out a television spot called “Ridiculous” during the first week of September, describing its gift layaway program while poking fun at the absurdity of jingle bells and snowmen being set up in store displays before the autumnal equinox. In spite of how ridiculous it did seem, many shoppers have bought into the extra-early-holiday-shopping hype. According to the National Retail Federation’s Consumer Holiday Spending Survey, conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics, 56.6 percent of those who celebrate the holidays began buying gifts in early November.

But no matter how many pre, pre, pre-Black Friday deals we’ve cashed in on, it’s important that we all keep one of the most vibrant and important parts of our communities in mind while on the hunt for gifts for family and friends: small businesses. The Herald encourages Nassau County residents to take part in Small Business Saturday — this Saturday — by checking out the wonderful products and services our local merchants have to offer.

Many studies show that when you buy from small businesses, significantly more of your money continues to circulate in the local economy. That’s because local businesses tend to buy from other local businesses and service providers, employ more local people, and attract more small businesses to the neighborhood — which means a larger tax base for your town (and potentially lower property taxes for you).

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