❗Let's close the gap: We still need your help to raise $40,000 by April 1. Donate now

Small Business Saturday helps retailers who aren’t caught in the supply chain

Savannah Maher Nov 26, 2021
Heard on:
HTML EMBED:
COPY
With some name-brand products delayed by supply chain issues, small retailers may see a boost this holiday shopping season. Above, Small Business Saturday signage in a New York City window. Brian Ach/Getty Images for American Express

Small Business Saturday helps retailers who aren’t caught in the supply chain

Savannah Maher Nov 26, 2021
Heard on:
With some name-brand products delayed by supply chain issues, small retailers may see a boost this holiday shopping season. Above, Small Business Saturday signage in a New York City window. Brian Ach/Getty Images for American Express
HTML EMBED:
COPY

The weekend after Thanksgiving comes with a call to support local retailers on Small Business Saturday.

And for some of those businesses — because of what they sell — the supply chain chaos could actually work in their favor.

Take, for example, Color Wheel Toys in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The store specializes in unique gifts for kids, like magic trick kits and locally sourced coloring books.

What it doesn’t carry is electronics or popular name-brand toys. Owner Keri Piehl said that’s partially insulated the shop from the supply chain crisis.

“If Target is trying to figure out like, ‘Oh, God, [we] can’t get Barbies. What are we gonna do?’ You know, and so it’s like they’re a cruise ship and we’re a speed boat,” she said.

Piehl said her holiday sales have been strong, with many local shoppers turning to Color Wheel Toys before those national chains.

Todd McCracken, who heads up the National Small Business Association, predicts that a lot more consumers will make the same calculation.

“Rather than buying that fancy electronic thing that can’t seem to get to the big-box store in time, maybe they should consider a locally generated gift item,” he said.

Small businesses that provide a service — like salons and spas — could do especially well, McCracken added.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.