Small Business Saturday 2020: Help Them Stay Afloat In Newton

NEWTON, MA — Small businesses have been the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, making Small Business Saturday in 2020 more vital than ever. This year, the all-local shopping event falls on Nov. 28 including in Newton.

Independently owned boutiques, gift shops, mom-and-pop hardware stores, restaurants and the like in Newton are facing unprecedented challenges due to coronavirus-related restrictions and shutdowns.

Check with your other favorite local business and Chamber of Commerce for any "Small Business Saturday" promotions, discounts or events. And click the interactive merchant map to see where participating shops are.

Some of the businesses that have signed up so far:

• Artitudes
• Betsy Jenney Newton
• Cabot's

• Down Under Yoga
• Leather World
• Learning Express Toys
• Pageo
• Revolve Boutique
• Shoe Barn
• Spinbox
• The Paper Mouse
• Videolink
• West Newton Cinema

Did we miss a local shop in Newton? Tell us in the comments or send an email to jenna.fisher@Patch.com and we’ll add it to the list.

Temporary closures, capacity restrictions, decreased demand for products and services and delays due to supply-chain issues have led to unprecedented challenges for small-business owners.

But the “Shop Small” movement continues amid these hardships.

"We are urging people to shop as if the future of local businesses depended on it, because it does," said Greg Reibman, president of the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce.

"This is such a critical make or break it for so many of our local retailers, if we don't have a good holiday season we're going to see a lot fewer of them around," he said.

Some 62 percent of small businesses in the United States need to see sales income return to the same rate it was pre-pandemic before the end of the year to stay in business, according to American Express, which established Small Business Saturday in 2010.

These businesses, many family-owned, were already fighting for survival against malls, big box stores and online retailers before the pandemic.

Debbie Miller of the Brookline Chamber of Commerce said small businesses are a big part of what makes a community.

"These businesses are part of the look and feel and culture of the community," she said. "These businesses are being challenged right now and many are struggling for their survival."

Since 2010, local business supporters have spent more than $100 billion on Small Business Saturday, according to American Express.

A Shop Small Consumer Impact survey from American Express before the pandemic found that 73 percent of people think empty storefronts are a national issue, and 84 percent agree the increase in empty storefronts and the closing of small, independently owned businesses negatively affect their local communities.

The survey showed that when consumers are aware of the impact of spending their dollars locally, 75 percent said they would be more likely to purchase a product or service from small, independently owned businesses.

For every dollar spent at a U.S. small business, approximately 67 cents stays in the local community, according to American Express. This helps independent shops and restaurants keep their doors open and meet pay for their workers — your neighbors.

That amounts to about $67 billion that has stayed in local communities since Small Business Saturday began, according to American Express.