The National Retail Federation found that 196.7 million consumers shopped during the 2022 Thanksgiving weekend, which is up 17 million from 2021. While the NRF states that Black Friday is still the reigning favorite in-store shopping day, Small Business Saturday was also successful as there were 48.8 million consumers shopping small.

 

Mintel, a market research agency, predicted in a study of 2022 winter holiday shopping that consumers wanted to support small businesses that year. However, “rising prices and the need to save money will divert some purchases into value-based outlets,” the report said.

 

Several independent boutiques in Chicago said that overall, their 2022 holiday season had positive responses from consumers. Clara Muffitt, the buyer for Art Effect in Lincoln Park, said that even though their sales for the holidays were less than in 2021, they are still very grateful to see clients return and support their business.

 

“We have such great stuff, and that's reflected in our windows which brings a lot of people in, but we do have a pretty serious clientele of regulars,” said Muffitt.

 

Similarly, Squasht Boutique, an independent clothing store in Ukrainian Village, had a good start to their holiday season despite being closed for three months due to a fire in August.

 

After the fire damage was repaired, Squasht was ready for holiday shoppers. “[The fire] might have had some impact when we opened back up. Like people were ready to support us again,” owner Lesley Timpe said. “Our holiday season is off to a good start. We had a really good Small Business Saturday and we had a good Black Friday.”

 

As to how these businesses managed to have a great turnout despite competing with door busting deals from large retailers, it doesn't seem to be from promotions or marketing but mostly from returning and dedicated clients.

 

Shayna Barsieod, owner of Shay Divas Closet in the Fernwood neighborhood, said that her business did better on Thanksgiving rather than Small Business Saturday in 2022. “We market the same and maybe even a little bit more” on Thanksgiving, she said.

 

However, Barsieod believes that there’s not a true value in promotional days like Small Business Saturday. “To be honest, I think it’s just the name that people run with. It’s not for me. And I speak for myself. I don’t think that Small Business Saturday is a big thing that really increases sales.”

 

Muffitt feels similarly. “Small Business Saturday, I feel like it doesn't really have a huge effect on us, because we're busy every day,” she said.

 

Even though the marketing and promotional strategies of these smaller boutiques don’t compare to the larger retailers, the store employees and owners said they were still successful.

 

At Squasht, Timpe replaced holiday sales with giving out free items, like candles, to those that spent over $200. “Because our profit margins aren’t really as high as a big box store, it’s harder for us to do a larger discount. We can’t really compete with Black Friday type discounts,” Timpe said.

 

It was similar at Art Effect, as Muffitt said “We just did like a small 25% off all clothing sale, so I mean, it was a pretty big sale for us.”

 

Barsieod recommends other small businesses to promote their sales on all forms of social media and mailing platforms during this holiday season, as she found that marketing on TikTok helped her business this weekend.