Small Business Saturday helps small businesses in La Crosse

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WEAU) – Whether it’s gift shops, clothing stores, or gaming stores, small businesses come in many styles. Small Business Saturday helps recognize these businesses.

La Crosse Downtown community engagement director Kathleen Pielhop says it’s a big day for many small businesses across the area.

“They prepare and prepare for this really big time that brings in a lot of the revenue for the year for a lot of small businesses and stores. They survive off of a lot of the sales during this time. I know that Small Business Saturday in general is a huge event for small businesses,” says Pielhop.

River City Hobbies manager Eleanor Barr says the store saw plenty of customers on Saturday.

“I saw a lot of people come through here. It was very busy. We saw a very big uptick of people for sure,” says Barr.

Drift Mercantile co-owner Azia Thelemann says Small Business Saturday provides an opportunity for businesses to see new customers.

“It’s nice to celebrate and get people out who maybe normally wouldn’t make it an effort to come downtown. There’s a lot of different shops that all put on events downtown whether it’s samples, or sales, or things like that. Just having a collective reason to come out is nice,” says Thelemann.

Both Barr and Thelemann say small businesses are not only important for the owners, but for the people who normally shop there as well.

“I think people like to shop local. They really do enjoy being able to go to their own stores and see stuff that you can get today. You don’t have to worry about shipping or anything like that,” says Barr.

“There’s just something personal you get from being able to walk in somewhere and maybe have them make you something custom, help you buy something, or let you try something on,” says Thelemann.

According to the Small Business Administration, last year, the spending from those who shopped on Small Business Saturday was projected at around $17 billion.

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