Small Business Saturday to be "even bigger this year"
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Organisers of Small Business Saturday on 6th December are aiming to get more retailers and shoppers involved in this year's event, reports Independent Retail News.
The inaugural event in 2013 is said to have helped to generate sales of more than £450m on the day, with 48% of consumers being aware of Small Business Saturday. National campaign director Michelle Ovens said the campaign would be working closely with small businesses, government, local councils and trade organisations over the next few months.
The event is an annual non-commercial, non-political, grassroots campaign that supports small businesses. It encourages local communities to get behind their small businesses
Commenting on the launch, Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Small businesses are not just vital to local economies, they are also at the heart of communities. Small business owners should be enormously proud that shops, cafes and factories are playing such a key part in our economic recovery.
"Small Business Saturday is an important reminder that we need to celebrate small businesses not just on one day, but all year round."
Small Business Saturday was first launched in the USA and the idea for a UK campaign was originally suggested by Chuka Umanna, Labour's shadow business secretary, who is supporting this year's event.
"We want to make sure this is even bigger this year that it was last year," he said. The event's website has just been launched and retailers can download information packs and ideas for local marketing.
American Express is again supporting the campaign and a Small Business Saturday-branded bus will be visiting more than 10 cities on a promotional tour. Organisers will also be using social media to feature one small business a day in the 100 days leading up to 6 December.
Ralph Patel, vice-president of the National Federation of Retail Newsagents, said: "A lot of our retailers had a lot of positive things to say about last year. The public came and said they were supporting Small Business Saturday.
"The biggest problem is when we do something like this, there is not always enough publicity."
Visit www.smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com to find out more and download information packs and ideas for local marketing.