Small Business Saturday, which follows the well-known Black Friday shopping frenzy the day after Thanksgiving, was launched by American Express on Nov. 27, 2010, but may still be relatively unknown to many of the country's residents.
"That was a program initiated by American Express a few years ago, and this is the third Christmas season that the Hot Springs Metro Partnership and The Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce has promoted it," Jim Fram, CEO and president of the partnership and the chamber, said Tuesday.
"The whole idea is to encourage people to think about their purchases locally before they go out and do a lot of widespread shopping. When you buy locally, you not only help local merchants stay afloat and be profitable, but the taxes paid on those purchases stay local and help provide services for the city and the county," he said.
According to the American Express website, an estimated 73.9 million people shopped at small businesses across the country in 2012, and an estimated $14.3 billion was spent at small independent businesses on Small Business Saturday last year.
"We have participated for three years and have a lot of merchants in the downtown area that are taking part in it," Fram said. "I think some of them have some prizes and gifts and things, depending on which ones you go to and when. We're trying to encourage everyone, regardless of which day they do their shopping, to give some thought to whether they can get that sweater, shirt or pair of shoes here locally, rather than driving somewhere and spending money someplace else," he said.
Fram said he believes the Shop Small campaign has been effective, and hopes that an uptick in sales tax revenue in the last few years has, at least in some small part, been a result of the Small Business Saturday event.
Mark Fleischner, owner of Lauray's The Diamond Center, 402 Central Ave., said Small Business Saturday is important to all small businesses, not just those downtown.
"All of us rely on our community, and I think our community relies on us. In many respects, but not all, we serve in community activities, participate financially, deposit our results in our community, and we work very hard for our community because our community helps us. It's kind of a circle," he said.
Fleischner said he thinks it's important that the Shop Small program has come to Hot Springs and is being supported.
"Last year, we saw amazing results. We were packed on Saturday and also on Friday, so we look forward to that. And, the downtown area will be a great place to come. It's beautiful, the Christmas decorations are spectacular this year and get better every year. A lot of positive things are happening, so I hope people continue to support the downtown and all the small businesses in our county and city," he said.
Suzanne Tucker, owner of Historic District Antiques, 514 Central Ave., said she loves to have residents shop in the downtown area and has noticed over the past few years that people are doing that more and more.
"Only about 20 percent of my business is local, but it's gotten better in the last three or four years. We have some unique shops that are different from the large strip malls and shopping centers, which drives our business down here," she said.
Cynthia Keheley, owner of Arlington Gift Shop, said Hot Springs is "very unique, and shoppers can find one-of-a-kind gifts for the entire family, as well as enjoy visiting a wide variety of restaurants, and entertainment venues."
"Families can explore our national park, and enjoy the festive holiday lights. We have it all. You will find shops with items for all ages -- toys, clothes, antiques, jewelry, collections, art, and much more. You also have the opportunity to shop and meet the owners when you come downtown. You are investing in your hometown when you buy local," she said.
She said the downtown is "sometimes the best kept secret in Hot Springs," and hopes residents will come to the area to enjoy the lights, take a walk down Central Avenue, and enjoy the collection of small businesses, shops, restaurants, and entertainment.
Imy Marcus, owner of The Toy Chest, 348 Central Ave., said it's important that residents shop with the small businesses, especially downtown, but it's hard to get the local people downtown.
"We've been here 27 years, and over those years, we've built a nice local -- within 50 miles, we consider them local -- following, so we can't really complain," he said.
"We are pleased and very happy with the local trade. Obviously, we'd like to have more. We try like the dickens to get people downtown, but we could always use more," he said.
Marcus said that when he first opened his business in Hot Springs, about half the spaces downtown were empty, but today "some of the nicest shops in Hot Springs are downtown."
"And there are some wonderful shops, with wonderful people to work with. It's just a matter of getting people downtown," he said.
One dark note on the weekend could be the weather forecast, Marcus said.
"If it pours down rain like predicted, it will kill us, but there's nothing we can do about it," he said.
Local on 11/25/2015