Some saw big results on Small Business Saturday | WLFI - Lafayette ...

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Some Lafayette businesses said "Small Business Saturday" was good to them this year. But those crowds may have been limited to the streets of downtown.

"Saturday was something that we have not seen since we've been down here in six years, which was a line, six to eight deep, all day," said Traci Bratton, owner of Walnut Street Traditions in downtown Lafayette.

Bratton said she had to call in her best friend to help at the shop, thanks to Small Business Saturday. She said the extra turnout tripled her profits, compared to the Saturday after Thanksgiving last year.

"It started at 10 and it did not end until 5 o'clock," she said. Bratton said while she saw many of her regulars, she guesses about 75% of the people who stopped in over the weekend were new customers.

This is the second year American Express has led the charge for Small Business Saturday. Business owners said the reason they think things really took off this year was a combination of increased media coverage and a call-out on Facebook."

"American Express just blasted it everywhere, so it was really a great day," Bratton said.

But not everyone saw the crowds that turned out in downtown Lafayette. In West Lafayette, JL Records owner Jim Pasdach said he thinks shoppers who were staying local stuck to the convenience of Main Street.

"Saturday and Sunday were less than normal," he said. "Our business doesn't pick up for Christmas business until about the middle of December."

But Pasdach said he did see a large crowd on Friday, for another nation-wide "shopping holiday" -- Independent Record Store Day.

"The first year it happened, it not only caught the customers by surprise, it caught us by surprise," Pasdach said. "But the last two or three Record Store Days, we've been more prepared for it."

Whatever the reason, both Pasdach and Bratton agreed, when customers shop locally, the entire community benefits.

CBS News reported that 89 million consumers planned to take part in Small Business Saturday this weekend. To promote the event, American Express gave away a million dollars in free Facebook advertisements to 10,000 small businesses.

Source: http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/some-saw-big-results-on-small-business-saturday

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