AmEx Announces Partnership Lineup for Small Business Saturday

On Thursday, October 26, American Express announced its lineup of partnerships and activities to promote the eighth annual Small Business Saturday, which takes place this year on November 25.

“We are proud to see how Small Business Saturday continues to inspire communities. This year we will again celebrate the small businesses that make our neighborhoods feel like home,” said Elizabeth Rutledge, executive vice president, global advertising and brand management at American Express. “We’ve seen firsthand that when small businesses thrive, our neighborhoods, towns, and cities thrive. So this Small Business Saturday we encourage everyone to visit the diverse range of small businesses that make up the fabric of their communities.”

American Express and the American Booksellers Association are once again partnering for Indies First on Small Business Saturday, during which independent bookstores will sponsor a wide range of events, including hosting local authors, illustrators, and celebrities as honorary booksellers for the day.

For Small Business Saturday, American Express is also partnering with Etsy for holiday pop-up markets in a number of cities; with San Francisco’s Museum of Ice Cream for special events and promotions for shoppers; with Record Store Day for a limited-edition vinyl album release for Los Angeles band Dawes, which owns independent business HUB Records; and with The Wing co-working community spaces for women for a November 25 pop-up bazaar as well as a panel featuring female business owners ahead of Small Business Saturday.

Once again this year, American Express has invited small business owners, individuals, and community organizations to sign on as Neighborhood Champions, which host events and rally their communities for Small Business Saturday. Booksellers can sign up to be a Neighborhood Champion on the AmEx website.

To find local businesses in their communities, consumers can browse the Shop Small Map of American Express. The map features qualifying American Express card accepting merchants; to be added to the map, booksellers will need to log into their AmEx merchant account. Learn more in the Shop Small and Small Business Saturday FAQs.

Small Business Saturday, held each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, was founded by American Express in 2010 to encourage shoppers to support independent businesses. Booksellers can learn more about Small Business Saturday at ShopSmall.com or on Instagram or Facebook. The social media hashtags for Small Business Saturday are #ShopSmall and #SmallBizSat.