Small Business Saturday crucial for local retailers

CHICAGO - Black Friday can be a fun tradition, but there is one holiday that's a little more meaningful for some.

Small Business Saturday, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, is when folks are urged to check out and buy from mom-and-pop shops in neighborhoods across the city.

This year is especially important as many small businesses are struggling due to high inflation.

They're calling this a "make or break" holiday sales season and desperately consumers to shop local.

In a recent survey, over 50% of small business owners said the last three months of the year are very critical to their overall performance and staying afloat.

Small business owners say they go the extra mile to make your shopping experience special. This year the survey also showed some positive results for shoppers.

"There are so many places now that are really trying to take the human element out of the equation. You're bagging your own groceries, you're scanning your own items, you're doing all of these things and really that experience that the small business can provide within the local community and having somebody there that's knowledgeable can serve the consumers in a great way, is just a really unique thing," Dave Charest from Constant Contact said. "You can get unique gifts that way too."

Nearly three-fourths of consumers said they actually prefer to shop at small business and 84% actually plan to purchase something at a place where they haven't even gone before.