Following the form of “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday,” Small Business Saturday presented a variety of discounts and sales from small businesses for the people of Laramie this weekend.
This was the fourth year that Laramie participated in Small Business Saturday.
Trey Sherwood, the executive director of the Laramie Main Street Alliance, said that 50 businesses partnered with Small Business Saturday to offer discounts, specials and incentives for local shoppers.
“Investing within locally owned businesses, allows you to know that the money you spend stays in your community and recycles, and helps improve the places that you love,” Sherwood said.
Sherwood said the benefit of the event is keeping money within the community, as well as supporting local businesses and helping the community stay unique.
Overall Sherwood thought the event was a success.
She said there were at least 600 additional shoppers as a result of Small Business Saturday, and that Cowgirl Yarn, one of the local businesses that participated in the event, had its best turnout in eight years.
Marla Petersen, general manager of Big Hollow Food Coop, said that she was very happy to have participated in Small Business Saturday and said it allowed her shop to have a good day overall.
“We will lose small storefronts if we don’t continue to support them, it’s easier to buy things online these days, and there’s a perception that prices are better online, though it’s not necessarily true,” Petersen said.
Petersen said that shopping online does not foster the feeling of goodwill the same way that shopping at local businesses does.
Lois Bornmann, training manager at Night Heron Books, said that she tries to shop local as much as possible and appreciates that this event encourages local shopping. She also said that supporting local businesses extends beyond just the shop you are buying from.
“For example our light roast is from H&S which is roasted locally, so when you buy a cup of coffee, you’re actually supporting two local businesses, Night Heron and H&S,” Bornmann said. ” Supporting local business puts money back into the community, and it supports local families as opposed to CEOs and shareholders.”
She said that another big advantage of locally owned businesses is the personal service.
“We have regulars here, I know more than a dozen people, I know their usual drink order, I ask them how their weekend was,” Bornmann said, “this personal touch is hard to find in bigger businesses.”
