NEW YORK, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Every U.S. retailer should have a holiday, promoters of Small Business Saturday said.
American Express launched the concept in 2010 as a way to boost sales at thousands of stores that miss out on Black Friday, because they are not located at a mall, and fail to qualify for Cyber Monday, as they are not an Internet business, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The event, the Times said, is supported by American Express and FedEx, which handed out 40,000 gift cards to its own customers and Facebook members.
Facebook, in turn, gave free advertising to the first 10,000 small stores that signed up, the Times said.
In 2010, small shops reeled in an estimated 28 percent more in sales than they did on the same day of 2009.
Organizers of the event said 89 million consumers would be doing business at small stores Saturday.
