Shopping on Small Business Saturday

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) - Nestled between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is Small Business Saturday. These sales days can get confusing quickly, but what's unique about Saturday is that it helps people who work and live right here in our neighborhood.

Dozens of restaurants and shops in Northampton are owned and operated by people who live in western Massachusetts.

Rebekah Brooks who owns a jewelry store in Thornes Market told 22News “We make all of our jewelry by hand locally, so every single thing is made by hand by us. We were actually really helped by pushing that part of our business and advertising that to people, and people responded favorably.”

Jennifer Butler of Hatfield said she shops at Thornes Market because it’s run by people who live here. “Their prices are comparable to the mall, yet you're supporting someone who works and lives in the Valley,” she said.

On Black Friday many people are drawn to doorbusters deals at big box retailers, and often small businesses can't compete with that kind of price cuts.

Eexperts say Small Business Saturday is a chance for local shops to appeal directly to holiday shoppers.

In fact, according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses, it is the biggest sales day for 36% of all independent retailers.

Small Business Saturday is relatively a new tradition. It began a couple years ago in 2010, but business owners say it has been successful at making people realize the importance of shopping local.

Joseph Romanos, store manager at Cedar Chest, told 22News “We've had a lot of people, a lot of my friends, a lot of customers coming in and asking what it's about. It's nice to have that awareness raised, so we are interested to see how it turns out.”

In Northampton Bag Day also promotes local businesses. Saturday, Easthampton will host its first Bag Day ever on Main Street.