Local vendors welcome customers on Small Business Saturday
by: Quametra Wilborn
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Thousands of shoppers are expected to hit the roadways this weekend to take part in some holiday shopping.
Today is Small Business Saturday and many small businesses are hoping some of those folks will walk in their shop.
Tucked away in the Cooper-Young community is a small full-service gift shop with colorful decor.
On the shelves are whimsical and unique items carefully handpicked by the shop’s owners Jenean Morrison and her husband.
“We buy those with the anticipation that someone will like them, someone will get them, and someone will want to gift it to someone else,” Jenean Morrison said. “So, you are taking a risk even with your buying.”
Morrison told WREG that they’ve been running Cooper-Young Gallery and Gift Shop for seven years and still get excited when people walk through their doors.
-
Trinkets at Cooper Young Gallery and Gift Shop. -
Trinkets at Cooper Young Gallery and Gift Shop.
“Even if they don’t buy anything, they’ve come in. They’ve looked around. They’ve given us a chance. They know what we have,” Morrison said. “Maybe they’ll tell a friend about it or maybe they’ll think about us for another occasion. It really means a lot.”
This shop is just one of the many small businesses in the Mid-South hoping to make big sales during the busy holiday shopping season.
Created back in 2010 by American Express, Small Business Saturday – which falls on the Saturday after Thanksgiving – is a day meant to encourage consumers to shop small and support local businesses.
According to a 2023 report by American Express, US consumers were projected to spend an estimated 17 billion dollars at independent retailers for Small Business Saturday.
Morrison says when people shop locally, they do more than support that business.
“We also shop locally. We bank locally. We pay local accountants. We pay local property taxes. We pay local sales taxes,” Morrison said. “[The] sales tax goes back into the community. So, when you shop in a local shop like this, it’s really important.”
About Post Author
