Chicago-area shops hope community turns out for Small Business Saturday after tough year
West suburban La Grange featuring flash sale, digital catalogue
LA GRANGE, Ill. (WLS) -- Nov. 28 is Small Business Saturday.
It's a day to support your neighbors by shopping local.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on many small businesses across the Chicago area, so shop owners are hoping for a big boost in business Saturday.
To promote their stores, shops in La Grange have decorated their windows.
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Typically, big box stores get a lot of the attention on Black Friday, and then neighborhood shops hope to capitalize the next day.
"Every day is important to a small business, but, especially this year, small businesses are really vulnerable, and so it's important that everyone understands that they need to come out and support the businesses in their neighborhood because it makes a really big impact on the success," said Nancy Cummings, executive director of the La Grange Business Association. "In retail, the fourth quarter is when it's make-or-break, and so it's really important that people understand that and that they do their holiday shopping at a small business."
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Window decorations are meant to entice customers inside but this year's pandemic has some businesses are refocusing efforts on E-commerce.
"I'm a cancer survivor. I know what it means to have fear during COVID about health. And,to me having the delivery option, having socially distanced ways to give out plants was incredibly important," said Ryan Glynn owner of Chicago Plants.
Glynn is offering free delivery for online orders this weekend.
The business association and village of La Grange have created a digital catalogue to make it easier for people to shop from home, hoping the community will still show up.
Cumming says the pivot to E-commerce has been essential this year with more socially distant events planned beyond Saturday's kick-off sales, including a chance to drive by Santa for a wave.
