Small Business Saturday Turns Five: How American Express and Local Retailers Have Changed Business Culture

Small Business Saturday turns five this week. Launched by American Express in 2009 at the height of the great recession, the day has been officially enshrined—unanimously—by the United States Senate, and has been publicly promoted by the President each Thanksgiving weekend. This day, and the associated “Shop Small” initiative has helped generate literally billions of dollars of revenue for tens of thousands of small retailers. It is the rarest of things—an initiative launched by a sin...