American Express Launches “Small Business Saturday”

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American Express OPEN, the company’s small business unit, has joined with advocacy groups and public and private organizations, including Facebook, Yelp, and the 3/50 Project, to declare the Saturday after Thanksgiving as Small Business SaturdaySM. The first-ever event will be held on November 27, 2010.

This November 27 is “a day to come together in support of the small businesses we love,”  the Small Business Saturday website explains.  “The shops and restaurants that employ our neighbors and reinvest our money close to home. The businesses that are the heartbeat of our communities and local economies.”

The first 10,000 business owners who sign up for Small Business Saturday via the event’s Facebook page will receive $100 in free Facebook advertising. Downloadable promotional materials for use on the web and in stores are available.

Consumers are encouraged to take a pledge to join the movement in support of small businesses. As an incentive, American Express is giving the first 100,000 of its card members who pre-register their cards and then spend at least $25 on Small Business Saturday at an independently owned small business a $25 statement credit.

Crain's New York Business reported that New York became the first city in the country to endorse the initiative, which was launched on Monday, November  8,  by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and American Express Chief Executive Kenneth Chenault.

“This is the start of a movement,” Chenault said at New York’s City Hall. “We want to really get people in the local community heavily involved in driving this. This is not a flash in the pan; we are committed to this effort for years to come.”

Mayor Bloomberg said he expects the movement to grow over time, and he likened it to Fashion’s Night Out, which attracted 49.1 percent more traffic last month, in its second year, than in 2009, according to Crain’s.