Shoppers urged to shop local on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday

WELLINGTON, Fla. (CBS12) — It’s the day after Thanksgiving and while some might be spending the day lounging around after their big meals Thursday, others are taking advantage of one of the biggest and busiest shopping days of the year.

Black Friday.

It’s a day where people wake up bright and early, wait in long lines, and see what the best deals are to save money. But it’s also a good time to consider shopping local and putting your money back into the local community.

Officials with the Mall at Wellington Green are urging people to use this Black Friday to shop at local businesses in honor of “Small Shop Saturday” tomorrow.

“Small Shop Saturday” is a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities.

At Wellington Green, mall officials say that more than 60% of their stores are independent, small businesses. After a study conducted last year, they also found more shoppers prefer to shop at these local mom and pop stores.

People from around the world run the small businesses inside the mall, bringing diversity right here to Wellington.

Luis Mosquera says his shop Wonder Streets Bakery’ is the epitome of a small business, a family of four who loves baking. They turned that passion into a locally loved business.

“It helps to bring the community together. I feel like it’s important for us and important for them also because we put in a lot of love and they’re going to feel that in our products,” said Mosquera.

For mother daughter duo, Leilah and Giovanna Najjar, their business ‘Ella Bella Collections’ also started as just a hobby.

The Najjar’s say it quickly grew to what the store is now. They tell us locals preferred their products to bigger brands.

“Our customers are very faithful, and they always come back. So, we are happy,” said Leilah.

“We have a ton of regulars, so they keep us consistent even through the ups and downs of seasons. You can already see the mall traffic picking up. Everybody is ready for gift-season,” said Giovanna. “It is special, right? Because everything is made with love. In a small business, there’s more care and I think it’s super intentional. I think we people shop small business, they’re supporting that intentionality and that heart that gets put into things.”

Yuly Vambrakel brings her unique style of athleisure-wear and accessories up from Broward County, where she already has two stores called “Yuly360.”

She just opened this third store a month ago due to growing demand for her local business

“I do everything. I take care of the store, I clean, I’m the owner, so it’s special that we can get the support of the community. Being a small business doesn’t mean that we don’t have great quality, or great things to offer to people. So yes, buy your big brands, but also give us the opportunity as a small business to show you what we can give you and the high quality you can get,” said Vambrakel.

All three owners tell us their small shops are places with personal touch and individuality, offering things you can’t find at bigger stores.

According to an American Express survey of small business owners, 55% of business owners say Saturday’s shopping day will make a significant contribution to their holiday sales this year.

In 2023, American Express reported spending $17-billion dollars on Small Business Saturday. Since 2010, when American Express founded ‘Small Business Saturday,’ people have spent $201-billion dollars on the shopping day.

‘Small Shop Saturday’ is officially recognized tomorrow, but really it’s a good time to celebrate our local small businesses this Black Friday and every day.