Angelica Ramos
Contributing Writer
MONTGOMERY COUNTY – Small Businesses in Montgomery County are preparing for and anticipating the holiday shopping season that holds days like Black Friday and Small Business Saturday.
According to the latest census, Montgomery County is home to 1,992 employer establishments and 5,901 non-employer establishments. This means that Montgomery County as a whole is home to thousands of various types of businesses.
The holiday shopping season is one of the biggest times of the year for local businesses to accrue revenue. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday on average increase sales as millions of Americans and other shoppers flood stores and websites each year. According to multiple statistics outlets, in 2023, more than 200 million people made at least one purchase during these holiday shopping days with roughly 134 million people shopping online, which caused an almost 8% increase in sales from 2022.
In Montgomery County, local businesses are prepared for these peak sales days. Ellen Woodall, manager of Blacksburg Books, as well as other owners and managers of local businesses, are excited to interact with their community and shoppers.
“Well, firstly we’re making sure we have enough staff on hand,” Woodall said of Blacksburg Books’ holiday shopping preparations. “Small Business Saturday is generally really busy for us. Honestly, it’s one of our favorite days of the year – all of our regulars come by, lots of new people stop by, and it’s great to see everyone really invested in supporting their local businesses. We always have snacks and turn the music a little louder – it’s like a party with all of your favorite people.”
“One way we prepare for SBS (and the holiday season in general) is that we put together a big list of all of our recommendations,” she continued. “We all like different genres and we obviously read A LOT, so if I have a customer come in looking for a great fantasy novel, even if fantasy isn’t my genre, I can look at our list and see what books Molly (our fantasy expert) has read and liked, and why she liked them. So, we have tons of recommendations that are coming from your real friends and neighbors – not an algorithm.”
Local businesses get to know their customers and community in ways corporations and online shopping might not. They’re neighbors, the people seen at local restaurants, and even members of town governments. Shopping at your local small businesses means supporting people you know. The sales during the holiday season, for local businesses, helps support them during the slower periods of the year as well as introduce new customers to generate new business and potential expansion. Small businesses help support local economies as well.
“Everyone wants a thriving downtown,” Woodall said, “but the only way to have that and keep it is to support local businesses. A small purchase online doesn’t mean much for a trillion-dollar business, but for us it can make or break our day, week, or month. Each purchase keeps us here. And we – both as a store, and our individual employees – make efforts to spend our money locally. We’re your neighbors and friends, and we’re spending our money locally, so every dollar helps keep Blacksburg strong economically.”
During this season of giving and receiving, as well as family and joy, local small businesses are preparing for that with window displays, signs, announcements and early sales. Many local businesses are ordering extra inventory or holiday specific inventory in preparation for the gift needs of shoppers.
