Small Business Saturday 2019: Where To Shop In Queens

QUEENS, NY — Independently owned shops in Queens are participating in Small Business Saturday, established a decade ago to help them compete against malls, big box stores and online retailers during the holiday shopping season.

Small Business Saturday, held annually on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, was created to give them a boost and help level the field of competition. This year, the 10th anniversary of the "Shop Small" movement, the all-local shopping event falls on Nov. 30.

Find Queens businesses that are participating by name or neighborhood here.

Here are some of the highlights:

• At Shop Small Astoria's Retail Crawl, shoppers who spend $10 or more at at least six participating stores will be entered to win a gift card from all participating stores, a $550 value. Shoppers can also get 20 percent off two Lyft rides in Astoria using the code SSASTORIA.
• QED Astoria is hosting its Annual Holiday Craft Bazaar, featuring 25 local vendors. Shoppers will receive a free souvenir tote while supplies last.
• The Long Island City BID has a map of local stores, restaurants and more small businesses to support on Small Business Saturday.
• The Sanger Hall Art Faire in Sunnyside will celebrate Small Business Saturday with a four-hour-long market featuring local makers.
• The Jamaica Center BID is encouraging shoppers to spend Small Business Saturday supporting small businesses along Jamaica Avenue.

Did we miss an event in Queens? Tell us in the comments and we'll add it to the list.

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.

This year, the stakes are even higher for small businesses. Rising rents and shifting consumer behavior are causing many small business owners to shutter their shops, according to American Express.

A Shop Small Consumer Impact survey from American Express 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 affects their local communities.

"We recognize the hardships faced by small business owners today and want to inspire people to take notice and Shop Small to support their communities on Small Business Saturday and beyond," Elizabeth Rutledge, chief marketing officer at American Express, said in a news release. "Retail is changing, but local shops are the fabric of our communities, helping them to thrive in the future is part of our brand ethos and backing promise."

Since 2010, local business supporters have spent $103 billion on Small Business Saturday, according to American Express.

But that’s only part of the story. For every dollar spent at a U.S. small business, approximately 67 cents stays in the local community — and it helps independent shops and restaurants keep their doors open and meet pay 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.

The American Express 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.

Shopping small isn't just a Thanksgiving weekend retail event, but a year-long movement, according to American Express, which says it is launching a marketing campaign to make consumers more aware of the impact they can have on their communities when they support local businesses.

"We believe in backing small businesses because we know they strengthen the communities where we live and work," Anna Marrs, president of Global Commercial Services at American Express, said in the news release.