KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — Yesterday was Black Friday. Today is Small Business Saturday…the day that you should try to shop at local merchants, small businesses that do more to drive the local economy than the big national chains.
Farmington’s Kate Knight of the DDA says the numbers are compelling. For every dollar spent at a local store, about two-thirds of the money is recirculated in the local community.
Only a third of the revenue spent at a national chain is re-spent locally.Consumers spent 15-billion on Small Business Saturday last year.
Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell says that means shopping downtown. He says Santa’s Workshop opens today downtown in the Epic Center on the Second Floor.
The Holly Jolley Trolley will also be in operation, giving free rides around the downtown on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through the end of the month.
