BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — It’s Black Friday, and many are itching to spend their money on those deals, but several Western New York business owners encourage many to shop local on Black Friday.
Some shoppers say they found some excellent deals at big box stores.
“Old Navy has five-dollar pajama pants,” says Cecelia, a shopper. “I found a five-dollar blanket,” her friend says.
But shopping at local small businesses like Half & Half Boutique and Global Village are stores that can be overlooked.
“Whatever income we get, we spend it into our community,” says Louise Sano, owner of Global Villages. “So it’s not the same going to a big company.”
Others say there’s a difference between shopping in small and big box stores in the mall.
“They can handle the markdowns, but for small business, we have a lot of overheads like I own this building, so you know we pay the rent, we pay the city taxes and electrical and all of that,” says Kilby Bronstein, owner of Half & Half Boutique. “Which they are all great expenses, but there is a lot of overhead, so big box stores it’s not on one singular person. So it’s hard for us to do a ton of markdown and promote as much as we would like.”
Even though many may or may not shop locally on Black Friday, small business Saturday is what many entrepreneurs like the owner of Half & Half look forward to.
“We have huge savings this weekend. We’re open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday so we’re in-store and online,” Bronstein says. “You’re able to save 65 percent, so yeah, that’s a huge discount.
