The holidays are here and gift shopping is underway. Small Business Saturday is just one way to support businesses competing with Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals offered by online and big-box retailers. Your commitment to shopping local in the East Bay this season helps to ensure our regional economy remains resilient. The East Bay is full of amazing small businesses offering unique and quality products throughout Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. You will get great products, support local businesses, and make an economic impact on the entire community.
Here are the top 3 reasons to shop small in the East Bay this holiday season:
1. For every dollar you spend at a small business, 68 cents stay in the local community via employee wages and benefits and reinvestment in other local businesses.*
2. Every dollar you spend at a small business creates an additional 48 cents in economic impact for the local community as a result of employees and local businesses purchasing local goods and services.*
3. Your dollars will support some of the over 90,000 small businesses in the East Bay that employ over 85,000 people.*
Shop small this holiday season and be part of the movement that is supporting small businesses in the East Bay. Here are a few more ways to support small businesses in and around our region:
- Buy a local gift card: Visit and Shop Local Alameda Gift Card, Berkeley Bucks Gift Card, Shop Concord Card, We Love El Cerrito Gift Card, Fremont Gift Card, Hayward eGift Card, Lafayette eGift Card, Gift Pleasanton, San Leandro Gift Card.
- Buy local gifts: Berkeley Holidays Gift Guide, Brentwood Maker’s Boulevard, Danville Gift Guide, Discover Dublin, Think Oakland First, Visit Tri-Valley.
- Shop Small: Find Small Businesses to Support This Holiday Season, Small Business Majority Holiday Gift Guide, California Shop Small.
*Source: The 2022 Small Business Economic Impact Study, Applied Geographic Solutions, 2022.