Small Business Saturday Designed to Help Local Shops Increase Sales

Some businesses earn the majority of their profits during the holiday shopping season, and in a struggling economy, those dollars are even more important.

American Express has created a campaign specifically designed to help small, local brick-and-mortar enterprises draw more shoppers.

"Small Business Saturday" is scheduled Nov. 26, and area shops including in Algonquin are promoting the program. Although many area businesses don't know what it is, they may just reap benefits from it anyway.

"I had to Google it to find out what it was," said Russell Farnum, ’s community development director. "We're really not doing anything with that because it would be difficult to promote one local business over another."

The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Chamber of Commerce is not promoting Small Business Saturday on its website either. But the way it works, any small business that accepts American Express is already in. The credit card company will give their cardholders a $25 credit if they spend $25 at a small business. National big-box retailers don't count, and chains are excluded, too.

So small businesses and their staffs might learn what Small Business Saturday is when American Express cardholders charge their purchases this Saturday. The "Shop Small" window decal on the door of , a breakfast restaurant in downtown Algonquin, means the restaurant is in the program, although the store's manager on Saturday said she didn't know anything about being connected to Small Business Saturday.

A Small Business Saturday Facebook page. promotional signs and national advertising all part of the focus that American Express is investing to make the promotion a success. Small business owners can take advantage of any of the materials, free. Cardholders need to register their cards for the promotion to receive the $25 credit. Other local businesses fall under the umbrella of partners for Small Business Saturday. These include shops associated with 1-800-Flowers, and American Booksellers Association, and Verizon.

A customer staff representative at Verizon Wireless in Lake in the Hills said his co-workers and managers weren't notified by their corporate office yet about Small Business Saturday. But the business is one of dozens recognized for supporting the endeavor.

, 11800 Factory Shops Blvd., Huntley, is a small shop that offers greeting cards, jewelry and collectibles. Suzanne, a sales associate at the store, said the staff is ready for Small Business Saturday.

More information about Small Business Saturday is available at http://www.smallbusinesssaturday.com.