This year’s BID American Express Shop Small partnership was a great success for Mission Hills!
The ninth annual Small Business Saturday, held on November 24, 2018, kicked off the holiday shopping season for consumers and small, independently owned businesses with record levels of reported spending. The Mission Hills Business Improvement District is proud to have been chosen as a Neighborhood Champion for the 2018 Small Business Saturday®, which unites communities to support small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It’s a holiday shopping tradition founded by American Express that celebrates all types of small businesses. Our neighborhood shops were filled to the brim to kick off the holiday shopping season and remind everyone to Shop Small.
About Shop Small
Shop Small is a movement — fueled by individual shoppers, business owners, and organizers who encourage shopping small all year long because they know it matters. Shopping small is more than just the act of shopping at small businesses. It’s a feeling — of walking into that corner coffee shop where they always know your order or of settling in at that tiny theater where your dad used to take you. And it’s a cause — one that supports local economies and promotes vibrant, diverse communities.
According to data released from the 2018 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey from American Express and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB):
- An estimated 104 million U.S. consumers reported shopping or dining at local independently owned businesses on Small Business Saturday
- Total reported spending among U.S. consumers who said they shopped at independent retailers and restaurants on the day reached a record high of an estimated $17.8 billion
- Based on this annual survey over the years, Small Business Saturday spending has now reached a reported estimate of $103 billion since the day began in 2010.
Shop Small Mission Hills – Gingerbreads on Goldfinch
The neighborhood gathering spot for this year’s Mission Hills BID Shop Small and Small Business Saturday Gingerbread Spectacular took place at Canale Communications parking lot from 11:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. where volunteers offered bags and swag and bouquets of balloons, gingerbread people and reindeer decorating tips, and where guests of all ages shared their delight for the life-sized Craftsman Gingerbread Shop created by Food Network award winner and Mission Hills local Jennifer Duncan from Cake Bakery. It was an especially sweet photo opportunity and crafting event and our Craftsman Gingerbread Shop was selected as the only photo to appear in the American Express press release.
For those who were not present to witness it, at 4:00 p.m. a “slow and steady” Mission Hills Nursery forklift operator safely picked-up the life-sized Craftsman Gingerbread Shop, then delivered and installed at the nursery. We are excited Toys for Tots and everyone who donates locally and/or purchases a Christmas tree at Mission Hills Nursery will fall in love with our Gingerbread Shop. CAKE had planned to donate the Gingerbread Shop to their family church but were persuaded to let it stay in Mission Hills! If it “holds up” we may see it at Holiday in the Hills on December 8th!
Media Coverage
In addition to advertisements for the Mission Hills Shop Small event in The Reader, City Beat, Uptown News and Presidio Sentinel print publications following are links to television news coverage Mission Hills received:
CW: http://www.thecwsandiego.com/story/39531576/after-black-friday-comes-small-business-saturday
CBS: http://www.cbs8.com/story/39531576/after-black-friday-comes-small-business-Saturday
CBS Weekend News clip featuring North Park, Mission Hills, and OB: https://www.iqmediacorp.com/ClipPlayer/?ClipID=a9246d9d-e539-4c8b-a56c-ea3ad84223d4
We are especially proud that, out of the 8,000 neighborhoods in the United States included in the official Small Business Saturday partnership, American Express chose to use Mission Hills Gingerbread Shop as the sole image in its 2018 press release!
If you have a special story about your Mission Hills Shop Small experience, please share it with us at MissionHillsBID@gmail.com.
