Small Business Saturday 2018: U. City And The Delmar Loop

UNIVERSITY CITY, MO — You may not realize it, but our independently owned boutiques, gift shops and mom-and-pop hardware stores struggle mightily to compete against malls, big box stores and online retailers. Small Business Saturday, held annually on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, was created to give these smaller enterprises a boost, and in University City, more than 130 shops, restaurants, galleries, and entertainment venues in The Loop are participating. Who knows, the Loop Trolley might even make it to The Loop by then.

Named for a turnaround spot for streetcars in the early 1900s, today The Loop features the St. Louis Walk of Fame, a statue of Father of Rock and Roll Chuck Berry and tons of unique shops you won't find anywhere else.

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Here are just a few:

• Vintage Vinyl (A great record shop — remember those?)
• Plowsharing Crafts (Unique, handmade and fair trade items.)
• United Provisions (An Asian grocery with St. Louis roots.)
• Mission Taco (Try the portobello tacos. And the BBQ duck. And...oh, just try them all.)
• Ranoush (Syrian fare with the best pita and hummus you've ever tasted.)
• The Wizard's Wagon (Comics and games and magic cards, oh my.)
• Piccione Pastry (The cannoli are to die for.)
• The Moonrise Hotel (A great place to spend the evening or the night.)
• Subterranean Books (Support your local bookstores, or Amazon will be your only choice.)

We can't list them all, but let us know what your favorite Loop businesses are in the comments. Feel free to call out any Small Business Saturday events we missed as well, or better yet, post them directly on Patch.

American Express established Small Business Saturday in 2010 to help local businesses reeling from the Great Recession. The U.S. Senate passed a resolution a year later encouraging businesses in all 50 states to participate in what has morphed into a nationwide “shop small” movement. Last year, some 7,200 local businesses in all 50 states participated.

What’s happened during the history of Small Business Saturday has helped independent retailers and restaurants keep their doors open. Their customers have spent an estimated $85 billion during the first eight Small Business Saturday events, according to American Express.

“Shopping small has a significant and positive effect on local communities, and we hope Small Business Saturday will help to amplify that effect during the crucial holiday shopping season,” Elizabeth Rutledge, chief marketing officer at American Express, said in a statement. “When we spend local, small businesses thrive. And when small businesses thrive, we all thrive.”

A new study commissioned by American Express shows that U.S. small businesses contribute $4.8 trillion to the GDP, equivalent to that of Japan, which has the third-largest economy in the world. The Small Business Economic Impact Study takes a county-level look at the economic benefits of shopping locally and how vital small businesses are to communities.

Among the findings:

• An average of two-thirds of every dollar spent at small businesses in the United States stays in the community.
• Every dollar spent at a small business creates an additional 50 cents in local business activity as a result of employee spending and businesses purchasing local goods and services.
• In addition to small businesses directly employing members of the community, spending by those small businesses and their employees in the area also supports jobs. In fact, the study found, for every 10 jobs at a small business, another seven are supported in the local community.

This year, 97 percent of consumers surveyed by American Express and its partner, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, said they think Small Business Saturday has improved their communities. Another 91 percent think it’s more important than ever to support small businesses this holiday season, and 83 percent plan to do at least some of their holiday shopping at independently owned retailers or restaurants, either in person or online.

As shopping habits further shift from brick-and-mortar stores to online marketplaces, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said they’ll seek out small, independently owned retailers while they’re perusing the internet. Among them, 59 percent say they’ll shop online on Small Business Saturday, and 40 percent said they plan to shop on a small retailer’s website on Cyber Monday, observed on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Retailers that buy in bulk may be able offer a lower price — or not — but there’s more at stake for independent businesses.

“For small business owners, their business is not just a business,” American Express says. “To them, it is an extension of who they are. Giving the local businesses within your community a chance is crucial to not only their survival, but to give them an opportunity to win you over as a customer.”

Photo by J. Ryne Danielson/Patch