Win Big campaign returns to encourage holiday shopping at local Portland stores

Holiday shopping trends have moved from a big focus on attracting customers to in-store events the day after Thanksgiving to a largely online affair that takes place over months.

But independent businesses in Portland have forged a lasting tradition of encouraging folks to shop local through a collaborative campaign.

This year the Win Big holiday shopping campaign goes through Dec. 15. It uses the chance of winning prizes like Trail Blazers tickets and hotel stays to attract shoppers to small businesses where they can enter to win.

More than 100 independent retailers in the Portland area participate in the campaign from Small Shops Big Hearts, the marketing arm of small business advocacy and consulting firm Bricks Need Mortar.

“Our small business community is of such great value to Portland and to the greater community,” Sarah Shaoul, founder and CEO of Bricks Need Mortar, said at a November event about the Win Big campaign. “They provide inspiration, they create a vibrant Portland, they come together, they show up every day — and in this time, in this holiday season in particular, they provide respite, comfort, camaraderie, and a whole lot of passion for the Portland that we all love.”

Related: Portland’s small businesses turn holiday shopping into multiweek affair

Shaoul started the Win Big campaign in 2020, when retailers were reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a reincarnation of Little Boxes, a campaign to drive foot traffic to locally owned stores the day after Thanksgiving, instead of so-called “big box” stores. Win Big has morphed into a monthlong effort, offering weekly prizes for going to participating stores, posting on social media, and buying gifts from independent retailers.

Small retailers often rely on profits brought in at the end of the year to help balance the books through the slow months of January and February. As websites like Amazon, Etsy and other major online platforms have grown in popularity, it’s dealt a blow to the independent shops that need foot traffic to help drive sales.

John Rork, an economics professor at Reed College in Portland, said shopping locally for the holidays keeps more money in the community — but he acknowledges that the pandemic shifted our shopping behaviors, and continues to affect how people approach the holiday season.

He said one example is, coming out of the depths of the pandemic, many people were more interested in spending money on experiences than material goods.

“It took a long time for businesses to figure out that that was the shift,” Rork said. “Because for a long time, we’ve been in the mold of more stuff, more stuff, more stuff and more is better. And I think [during] the pandemic, people were actually living surrounded by all that stuff over and over again and going, ‘I really want to get out of the house and do something else.’”

Rork said it will be interesting to see if shoppers opt for experience gifts or physical ones this year.

Event Cosmetics, a Southwest Portland store participating in the Win Big campaign, is ready to serve shoppers looking for either one. The locally owned skincare and makeup company offers services like facials and waxing and sells its own makeup line.

Bex Ben-Iesau has worked at Event Cosmetics for two years. She said local stores can provide a calming and enjoyable shopping experience during the holiday season — and some offer services to help manage the stress that can come along with this time of year.

“We have people that come in when they’re so overloaded and stressed just to have a release,” Ben-Iesau said. “I do facials for my clients, and it’s really so much more than the skincare and help that I do healing their skin. There’s a lot of emotional support that happens as well.”

Ben-Iesau encourages shoppers to visit local stores for the Win Big sweepstakes, even if it’s just to say hello and pick up a trading card, a new feature of this year’s campaign. She also said she’s happy to offer Event Cosmetic visitors suggestions of other local stores to shop at for the campaign.

“Last year I did all of my Christmas shopping locally using Win Big,” Ben-Iesau said. “It was so fun being able to see all of the different stuff that all the local businesses will have and trying to find the special thing. There’s so many more unique things for people at these local businesses than online, and it’s fun to walk around and see the different shops.”