Covid complexities make this a critical holiday shopping season for many locally owned businesses
 

Chapel Hill, NC: The Chamber For a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro encourages everyone in the community to share joy and shop small on Small Business Saturday, which is the Saturday after Thanksgiving (11/28/20). Covid complexities make this a critical holiday shopping season for many locally owned businesses. 

“Small businesses in our community have incorporated Covid-conscious practices to ensure customers have a safe and joyful shopping experience, and many have launched new online stores, too,” said Aaron Nelson, President and CEO, The Chamber For a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro. “When we spend it here, we keep it here, so keep it local with in-store and online local purchases all season long.” 
 

Local Matters 

Every purchase from a small, local business supports local jobs and helps preserve the local character of our community. In fact, 67 cents of every dollar spent at a local business stays in our community according to the Small Business Economic Impact Study by American Express. 
 

Find a Local Business 

The Chamber encourages all community members to find and support local businesses through The Chamber Directory, which now features local businesses grouped by holiday shopping categories: “Local Retail, Gifts, and Apparel;” “Salons and Spas;” “Theater and Art;” “Restaurants;” “Coffee and Sweets;” and a new category featuring local Carrboro businesses, called “Carrboro Cheer.” 
 

Small Business Saturday

Small Business Saturday is a national movement launched in 2010 by American Express and supported by local communities across the country. Mayor Hemminger of Chapel Hill and Mayor Lavelle of Carrboro have declared Saturday, November 28, 2020 as Small Business Saturday. 
 

Chamber Activation

The Chamber is recognized as a Small Business Saturday Neighborhood Champion for outstanding efforts to bring the community together with events and activities on Small Business Saturday and throughout the year. The Chamber Directory connects shoppers with local businesses and the Chamber’s website features a new Local Matters webpage that helps local businesses make the most of Small Business Saturday and the holiday shopping season. 

In addition, The Chamber will co-host a table at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market on Small Business Saturday with the Carrboro Business Alliance and a representative from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Together, the organizations will distribute 100 Small Business Saturday bags with complimentary samples and coupons from local businesses. 
 

Get Involved 

In addition to buying local in-store and online all season long (find a local business), The Chamber encourages the community to spread the local business love with a positive online review, encourage friends and family to shop small this holiday season, and follow the Chamber on social media (facebook, twitter, instagram) and help us promote local businesses using hashtags #ShopSmall, #BuyLocal, #LocalMatters, and #SafeCommerce. 
 

Cyber Monday

The Monday after Thanksgiving is commonly known as Cyber Monday and is a significant online shopping day. The Chamber calls on our community to make it Local Cyber Monday and intentionally make online purchases from local businesses. Many local businesses have invested in new online purchasing platforms, such as Sofia’s Boutique in historic Carr Mill Mall. 
 

Giving Tuesday

Many local businesses will support local nonprofit organizations on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which is known as Giving Tuesday (12/1). The Chamber encourages the community to join local businesses in support of local charities. Find a local charity to support. 
 

Other Buy Local Activities 

The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau is promoting a new Buy Local Gift Guide for Kids, the “Get Out. Give Back” campaign featuring local elected officials encouraging residents throughout the Triangle to shop local Orange County, the Live like a Local Series featuring local residents’ favorite local restaurants and shops, and a new staycation web page and map encouraging locals to safely enjoy local attractions. In addition, the OCVB is maintaining an active Orange County Restaurant List. 

The Carrboro Business Alliance is coordinating Carrboro Cheer, a series of events to spread cheer and support local Carrboro businesses. Carrboro Cheer kicks off on Small Business Saturday with a booth at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market from 9-10am, includes promotions for local businesses on Cyber Monday and throughout the holidays as well as promotions for local charities on Giving Tuesday. This year, Carrboro Cheer will feature an online Gift Guide showcasing dozens of highly curated, uniquely Carrboro gift ideas, which will be released before Small Business Saturday. 

The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership continues to maintain a list of open shops and services and is coordinating Save the Music Initiative & Street Performance Series. 

WCHL 97.9 The Hill Chapelboro.com continues to maintain a What’s Open and Closed List and reports regularly on the local business community. 
 

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