With Thanksgiving dinner behind them, shoppers across the country hitched up their stretched-out pants and prepared for a trifecta of busy shopping days.
Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday all follow Thanksgiving Day, and local businesses near ASU took part in the first two shopping events.
Owner Julie Kent of Here on the Corner, a Tempe fashion boutique on University Drive and College Avenue, said business was great on Black Friday.
“When I got there Friday morning, people were already lined up,” Kent said. “There were crowds until we closed.”
Kent said she thought her business did well because she offered a good deal. Customers could get 50 percent off any one item in the store.
Kent said business on Small Business Saturday was similar to that of any other Saturday.
“It was OK, but not anything remarkable,” she said.
Small Business Saturday is in its second year. American Express created and promoted the shopping holiday for small businesses to compete with Black Friday, which is mainly celebrated by large businesses. Cyber Monday focuses on e-commerce.
Last year, film junior Madison Lipari worked on Small Business Saturday at Atomic Comics. The now out-of-business comic book store in Chandler was one of a few Valley businesses that received money from American Express after registering to participate in Small Business Saturday. The money went toward advertising on Facebook.
As part of the deal between American Express and Atomic Comics, staff members, including Lipari appeared in a commercial for American Express.
This year, Lipari visited another comic store on Black Friday.
“I went to Ash Avenue Comics (& Books),” she said. “Comics rarely go on sale; out of all the shops I go to, they were the only one that had a sale.”
The store on Ash Avenue and University Drive had a 20 percent off sale for the majority of its stock on Black Friday, owner Drew Sullivan said.
“We saw it as a good opportunity to get customers back in our shop,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said he chose not to participate in Small Business Saturday.
Kent said she saw the reasoning behind American Express’ shopping holidays, but admitted it needed work.
“I think (Small Business Saturday) was a start, but people need to know to shop at their local business all the time,” Kent said.
Reach the reporter at julia.shumway@asu.edu or follow @JMShumway on Twitter.
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