Buy local event on Saturday

 

Specials abound during Small Business Saturday.

Shop local, keep money in town. Help small businesses grow.

 

Today is Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. It’s traditionally the day which helps to put businesses in the black as holiday gift givers seek out that perfect item for those on their list.

But, before you hit the Internet and spend amok, consider shopping local first, and giving the Kodiak community the gift of your business.

That’s what the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce is hoping residents will do, especially on Saturday—buy local.

National Small Business Saturday is a movement which encourages people to buy from the people they know instead of some major online retailer.

 

“I’ve been on the island for about two years. And, I’ll be honest it wasn’t a huge priority to me. Amazon was convenient. And you know, seemed easy enough to do.  But, man, I have gotten out into our local stores and I love them! Our community members, I mean these are the people we see everywhere. And they’re so personable and they want to create the shopping experience with you. They know you, they want to help you. And oh my gosh, the things that I’ve found in these shops that I can’t find on Amazon.”

 

That is Sarah Phillips, the Community Relations Director for the Chamber of Commerce. She said that of every $100 spent at local independent stores, $45 is spent a second time in the community as everything from payroll to utilities to many types of local spending.

She is encouraging people to pledge to give the “Gift of Local.”

 

“And what the Gift of Local entails in not just giving a gift that’s local. When we’re giving a Gift of Local it’s giving the gift back to our businesses and our friends and family that we’re actually giving our gifts to. So giving the Gift of Local actually supports our businesses who are our friends, our neighbors and our family members. Kodiak is such a close knit community, we support each other. It’s helping to create jobs by supporting our small businesses.”

 

And if you want to get in some local Black Friday shopping ahead of Small Business Saturday, the Chamber of Commerce can help. The Chamber’s Facebook page has a post listing all the local stores they know of that have sales and specials for shoppers both Friday and Saturday.

 

CLICK HERE to go to Chamber of Commerce Facebook page for local deals.