Shopping local for Black Friday and Cyber Monday is imperative for the survival of local businesses, according to a survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
Eighty-six per cent of small businesses say it is critical that people make the extra effort to shop local this year.
“It’s easy to default to big box stores and online giants on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But it’s the independent stores in our neighbourhoods that really, really need a boost this year—their futures depend on it. We’re asking consumers to help by making conscious choices this holiday season and maybe doing things a bit differently,” said Laura Jones, Executive Vice-President at CFIB.
“I’ve heard some commit to only shopping at small business this season. Others are looking online to support small businesses in parts of the country that are locked down again even if that’s not where they live. If everyone makes an extra effort to support local more businesses will recover from the terrible hit they have taken.”
If you are concerned about shopping safe, 79 per cent of businesses have gone above and beyond provincial health guidelines, while 90 per cent of those relying on in-store sales say they are easily able to limit the number of customers in-store.
Small businesses have also made an extra effort to serve customers in new ways, with 86 per cent offering things like curbside pickup and delivery.
According to CFIB’s estimates, Canada could lose nearly 24,000 retailers and 30,000 hospitality businesses by the end of the pandemic.
CFIB has also teamed up with American Express to hold Small Business Saturday on November 28th, between Black Friday on the 27th and Cyber Monday on the 30th.
