Shopping Small Means Big Impact

The Saturday after Thanksgiving marks an American shopping tradition growing in popularity: Small Business Saturday, held this year on November 26, encourages consumers to do their holiday shopping in person or online at local, small businesses. Shopping small not only stimulates local economies — many of which are still navigating fallout from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic — but also presents opportunities to make more meaningful and sustainable purchases, since many small businesses are also more socially responsible. 

“Like all businesses, small businesses are of course trying to make significant profit; without the pressures of a multi-stockholder model, however, they often are more likely to support employees and their families, and to invest in their community,” says Jonathan White, director of the Bentley Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Center (BSLCE) and associate professor of Sociology. “The small business owner is usually physically present: Their children may be growing up in the community, they may directly know all or most of their employees and their families, and often have direct relationships with their suppliers. Thus, small businesses operate more on a stakeholder model than a stockholder model, and as a result there is likely to be more reciprocity.”  

Most Americans agree with White’s sentiment: The Bentley-Gallup Force for Good Survey found that 82% of Americans believe small businesses positively impact people’s lives. And the facts back that up. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), small businesses create two-thirds of net new jobs, drive U.S. innovation and competitiveness and account for 44 percent of U.S. economic activity, as reported in 2019. 

“With a weekend like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s hard for small businesses to compete with larger corporations’ sales,” says Samantha Sorabella ’17, co-founder of Capeology, a Cape Cod-based small business focused on small business social media partnerships, as well as an e-commerce business for their nautical jewelry line. “But thanks to the growing movement of Small Business Saturday and a push on social media to support it, it really gets people to stop and think about where they are spending their money that weekend. This day dedicated to small businesses is part of a shift in consumers’ mindsets.”

PREPARING TO SHOP SMALL 

Shopping at small businesses can be as easy as heading to local shops close to home. But preparation can help you discover harder-to-find items and identify businesses that operate with a purpose.   

“It’s easy to go to Amazon or to big box stores, but I don’t think that being a consumer should be easy,” says White, who is an associate professor of sociology. “It is part of our job as consumers to take the time to educate ourselves and to let our dollars lead with our ethics. How does this business treat labor, support people’s rights, measure up on equity and inclusion and care for the planet? The more of us who are intentional about being conscious consumers, the more pressure is put on all businesses, big and small, that we hold them accountable for ethical practices that care for people and planet.”  

Paul Delmonico ’92 is cofounder of Del’s Coffee Roasters, a Fair-Trade Certified company based in Waltham, Massachusetts.  

“Supporting small local businesses is everything this time of year and is important in so many ways; the most obvious is that you are helping the local economy by keeping investment and money within your community,” says Delmonico, who has supported local initiatives such as Waltham Land Trust, Watch City Arts, Waltham Chamber of Commerce, FSH Muscular Dystrophy and The Somerville Homeless Coalition. “Another factor often overlooked is that by supporting local businesses you are reducing your carbon footprint by limiting the amount of fuel required to ship that product to your door.”  

As you consider your holiday shopping and budget, plan how much you’re willing to pay to support ethical labor and products. The Force for Good Survey found that 72% of Americans say they’d pay more for a product from a company that treats its employees well, for example. Take time to consider company missions and issues that are important to you — and that will be meaningful to your gift recipients. 

White believes that some of the willingness for consumers to pay more is due to heightened awareness of the importance of supporting small businesses that were in danger of shutting down during the pandemic. “Perhaps we started doing a better job of making sure we shop at local stores instead of big chains because we realized how much we value them and how much they are part of the social fabric of our communities.”  

Another factor, White adds, is the conscious consumption movement that was prompted by climate change. “Consumers are increasingly willing to buy less in order to buy more sustainably. COVID and climate change have created a dual impetus to help us realize that reckless materialism doesn’t bring us happiness in the ways that we want it to. When we shop with our values, we in turn value the process of shopping and the purchased goods that much more.”