North Jersey merchants see meager traffic gains on Small Business Saturday
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2012, 11:19 PM
BY STEPHANIE AKIN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
It’s been billed as a way for locally owned stores to cash in on the post-Thanksgiving retail rush, but Small Business Saturday — observed by hundreds of local businesses on Saturday — has yet to truly catch on in North Jersey, several shoppers and business owners said.
Owners of downtown stores throughout the region praised the idea, which started as an American Express marketing campaign in 2010 and has since been embraced by politicians and trade groups throughout the country. But several participating store owners said this year’s foot traffic was about the same, or even slower, than any other Saturday.
Marissa Rizkalla, co-owner of The Couture Baby in Ridgewood, was one of the merchants who took advantage of some of the free publicity.
“I’d do it again next year because it doesn’t hurt,” said Rizkalla, whose shop opened on Ridgewood’s main shopping drag two months ago. “But a lot of people didn’t know about it or didn’t understand how it worked.”
The event, held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, is meant to remind shoppers of the advantages of buying locally after the chain stores’ Black Friday fever has passed. American Express card holders who enroll early get $25 back on a purchase of $25 or more at participating stores. The credit-card company also provides free advertising and marketing materials for participating businesses, and many stores and downtown business districts plan their own sales, in-store giveaways and holiday events — in Paterson, for example, shoppers were entertained by roving jugglers and Dickens carolers.