Small Business Saturday lures shoppers

WARWICK — Nothing works better than free money.

Shops in the Village of Warwick didn’t open at midnight for Black Friday but on the third annual “Small Business Saturday,” a campaign backed by American Express, shoppers came out in droves to the downtown business district.

Merchants reported record sales, not only for Saturday but also for the entire weekend.

Small Business Saturday, sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, was created to attract shoppers to local businesses nationwide.

American Express cardholders, who had registered with the company, received $25 worth of credit for spending $25 or more at any participating local merchant. The offer was only good for Saturday, Nov. 24.

Some of the merchants took advantage of the well-publicized event to offer their own specials and other promotions.

“Besides the American Express promotion we gave 20 percent off on everything in our shop, including the dance wear” said Sue Loughren,” owner of the Toy Chest. “But I forgot to register my own personal credit card.”

Mary Beth Schlichting, co-chair of the Warwick Merchant Guild and owner of Frazzleberries Gift Shop, said that many of the people who shopped at her store on Saturday were specifically there to take advantage of the $25 American Express credit.

However, although Mayor Michael Newhard, who owns Newhard’s Gift Shop, reported that this Small Business Saturday was even better than last year, he believes the American Express promotion was only part of that success.

“It’s become a much bigger event and stores are offering their own incentives,” he said. “We had a food tasting and we also gave an additional gift to our customers. And the weather was good throughout the weekend. We had a good Black Friday.”

Newhard cited the many advantages of shopping local including personal service, saving fuel and time, avoiding unnecessary aggravation and fueling the local economy.

- Roger Gavan