ALEXANDRIA, Va. — This Small Business Saturday, retailers are urging customers to shop sooner and shop small to ensure their gifts make it under the tree by Christmas Day.
Saturday kicked off Shop Small Week in Alexandria and organizers expect a busy season.
Shoppers looked out for deals during Del Ray's Shop Small Crawl. The Dog Store offered a host of discounts on treats, toys and Christmas items, along with custom items to order.
"Everybody’s just been amazing, they’re willing to work with us and wait the extra little bit of time to get something through local small business," said manager Annabell Bivens.
Alexandria's second Shop Small Week is celebrating the holiday shopping season with live music and giveaways.
Organizers hope more people will choose to shop small to avoid supply chain delays with shipping.
"There’s a lot of supply chain shortages, so they’ve really stepped up to the challenge again and been able to order supplies earlier than ever, deck out their stores in Christmas decor earlier than ever to encourage folks to shop small and shop sooner," said Rebecca Doser, of Visit Alexandria.
Shop Small Week is aiming to increase business but stores said they’re already seeing a boom in business as people return to in-person shopping.
"We’ve definitely seen an increase, people getting more comfortable, coming back into stores," said Bivens who estimates business has been up 30%. "And then during the pandemic, everybody went out and got a pet."
Small retailers are relieved to have remained open through the pandemic, and the pivot to online shopping means they are exceptionally prepared for Cyber Monday this season. Events celebrating local business will be going on all week and into December.