Small Business Saturday has never been more important and Main Street Plant City is kicking off a new program in hopes of drawing holiday shoppers to the local businesses downtown.
The small businesses that call downtown Plant City home have tried creative ways to bring in customers as they struggle to make ends meet during the pandemic. Many were closed for months and those who opened had to limit capacity and enforce social distancing protocols. Now all of the doors are unlocked and open to customers, but many shoppers are sticking to the routine they established in isolation: online shopping.
Surveys across the nation show this will be a Black Friday unlike any other. Many stores have opened their deals all week long in hopes of reducing crowds. Others aren’t having any deals whatsoever as they attempt to keep their employees safe from an onslaught of shoppers. Some are relying heavily on online deals and others have greatly scaled back their hours for shoppers to arrive.
Because of this, the advertisements for Cyber Monday have been more prevalent than ever. But the third holiday nestled between has been greatly overlooked. The argument is that there is a shift in focus from one weekend of shopping local to an altered lifestyle where that becomes your foundation and shoppers only turn to other outlets once their local perusal is complete.
However, local businesses are hoping they won’t be forgotten this weekend and have partnered with Plant City Main Street to offer a unique incentive to holiday shoppers. Main Street will be unveiling its new Downtown Passport on Saturday. Sponsored by a variety of local businesses and organizations, the passport offers a quick tour around downtown that can lead to massive discounts.
“We’ve been trying to promote the ‘shop local’ mindset as much as possible,” Jerilyn Rumbarger, executive director of Plant City Main Street, said. “The idea for the passport came out of our Merchants Committee and really the idea is that this can act as that extra boost for our local businesses. In this pandemic we have really seen that our small businesses really are the heart of the community and America. We cannot let them fail. And when you think about it, the money that you spend locally recycles back into the community. I think it’s $68 of every $100 spent in a small business goes back into the community. You’re not helping a corporation. You’re helping a parent and a friend. You’re helping your neighbor and you’re getting some really unique items for yourself in the process.”
Because of the overwhelming support from sponsors, Main Street is able to provide the passport for free for the community. Essentially, you come downtown to one of the 20 participating businesses and pick up your passport. Flip through the pages and find the list of businesses. Each has an empty circle beside it. When you shop in that business, you will get a stamp on that circle.
The stamps will be distributed to shoppers from Nov. 28 through Dec. 5. The number of stores you visit will play a key role in the savings you will get. You can revisit any of those stores to redeem your savings from Dec. 6 through Jan. 31, so you’ll have plenty of time to wrap up Christmas shopping and even pick something up for yourself in the new year.
To get a stamp you must spend a minimum of $10 in each store. Then when you return, every store you shopped in prior will give you a one-time discount based off of the number of shops you hit during the initial week. If you shopped at 10 stores, you get a 10 percent discount. If you shopped at 11 or more businesses, you get 15 percent off. If you visited all 20 businesses, you get 25 percent off.
“All of our small business owners are living the American Dream,” Rumbarger said. “Everyone dreams of owning their own business and every dollar counts for them, every penny counts for them. Shopping there helps keep their lights on and these larger corporations don’t need that. And what’s great about our downtown specifically is that there is such a wide variety of businesses here that there’s something for everyone.”
You can buy unique antiques for your eclectic family member, handmade soaps and lotions for your loved one you hope to pamper, homemade chocolates for your family member with a sweet tooth, LEGO for the children in your life (or the young at heart), coffee or a java gift card for your caffeine connoisseur and more.
Businesses will be open during their normal hours on Small Business Saturday, but Rumbarger wanted to remind shoppers that many have altered and expanded their shopping options as a response to this pandemic. Several now offer curbside pickup and many others allow you to shop online. If you don’t yet feel safe going into stores, there’s still a way for you to participate. The business can still stamp your passport if you choose to remain in your car and have your items walked out to you.
“We’ve all seen how resilient our downtown has been,” Rumbarger said. “Everything is different now, but our businesses adapted and moved forward without any hesitation. Our objective at Main Street is to continue to drive traffic to the businesses, which in turn drives revenue for downtown. And I think this passport will be a unique way to do that. We are so thankful for our sponsors because if it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t be able to give these out for free to the community. I think it’s really going to be a big hit. People want to give to a small business rather than a corporation. They want to show up on Christmas morning with unique gifts that no one else can find. It’s really a win-win and I hope that our businesses see a lot of support.”
PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES
Brick City Bricks
I Hate My Trainer
The Mercantile
Tennessee Jane
Two Blondes Boutique
Krazy Kup
Norma’s Cuban Sandwich Shop
The Honey Pot Wax Studio
Clever Massage
Aim Lighting
Tub Treats
The Device Clinic
Dark Horse Music Store
The Industry
VEV Fitness & Nutrition
Brick House Cafe
Snellgroves Restaurant
Aromatic Harmony
Blue Thumb Computer Repair
The Corner Store