Shopping Indie on Small Business Saturday

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are so ingrained in our holiday vernacular that they’re practically holidays themselves. But there’s really no celebration here, rather desperate attempts to buy an $8 fleece jacket at 2am for someone who doesn’t even want another cheaply made fleece jacket.

Small Business Saturday is here to rescue you from the holiday madness. Started by American Express five years ago, the day (which always falls on the Saturday after Thanksgiving) encourages shopping locally and in the flesh at brick and mortar shops. According to Buy Local RI, a non-profit collaborative spearheaded by the Rhode Island Foundation, if we all shifted 10% of our annual big box spending to independently owned businesses, we would add $373 million dollars to the Rhode Island economy. Now that’s a reason to celebrate! Small Business Saturday falls on November 28. buylocalri.org