More than 40% of consumers frequent small businesses more now than they did pre-pandemic, signaling an increase in prioritization for the sector among consumers overall. The ICSC released the results of its Small Business Consumer Survey May 4, revealing that 54% of customers are spending money at small businesses weekly and 94% do at least sometimes. Results of the survey, which polled more than 1,000 respondents, showed that 67% of small business consumers patronized restaurants, coffee shops and bars; 50% shopped at grocery stores and specialty food shops; and 33% shopped at small businesses that primarily sold clothing, footwear and accessories.
Consumers have different motivations for spending their money where they do. For 52%, shopping small businesses is about keeping money local. For 49%, it’s that they enjoy the quality of goods and services; 47% enjoy the convenience; and 46% prefer the price and value of the products they purchase.
For large business customers, 63% said they prefer the price and value of products at larger stores; 59% enjoy the convenience of store locations; and 50% appreciate the larger variety of goods and services.
Stephanie Cegielski, vice president of research and public relations at ICSC, chalked up the change to the pandemic’s undeniable effects on daily life along with widespread highlighting of small business.
“People are spending less time in cities and offices, and more time closer to local shops in their neighborhood. Remote work and other shifts are changing the way consumers shop; for example, for many hybrid workers, it’s become easier for people to step out and run errands at local businesses during the day,” she said. “Consumers also saw that small businesses were hardest hit during the pandemic. As we can all remember, there were campaigns calling for residents to support their local business owners during mandated closures. Those habits have continued as restrictions lifted, and many are still looking for ways to shop small in the current environment.”
Consumers have different motivations for spending their money where they do. For 52%, shopping small businesses is about keeping money local, according to the ICSC’s Small Business Consumer Survey.
When asked if pandemic-era growth was the case for her business Chic Sugars, Ericka Oldham said the answer was a no-brainer. Before COVID, she was solo for 11 years doing custom cakes out of her little shop in Fort Lee. Since the pandemic began, she’s hired 20 people and traded her 1,000-square-foot storefront for 3,000 square feet in Englewood. She recently opened a kiosk in the Garden State Plaza in Paramus and has two other mall kiosks coming down the pike.
Oldham’s customers have said they like supporting Chic Sugars because it’s a small minority woman-owned business, but more than anything, they say it comes down to quality. “We get a lot of comments on our white glove customer service. The resounding information we get back is that it’s because of the level of customer service that we give coupled with the quality. A lot these [other] custom cakes … they look good, but they don’t taste good,” Oldham said.
Aya Paper Co. owner SaVonne Anderson says customers want to support Black-owned businesses and shop
sustainably, but they really appreciate her personal touch. – AYA PAPER CO.
Business for stationery company Aya Paper Co. has expanded since the pandemic due to the increased reach of online sales. Owner SaVonne Anderson said that while customers have shared their motivations to support small Black-owned businesses and to shop sustainably, the one thing they comment on most is the handwritten thank you notes she sends out with every order.
“It takes a little extra time on our end but showing that gratitude is always worth it and reminds our supporters that there are real people behind this brand working hard to get them their gifts and cards on time,” she said.
Both women use their own businesses to lift others, too. When Aya Paper Co. celebrated its two-year anniversary event last year, Anderson included six other New Jersey- and New York-based brands in the event to encourage her customers to check out other small businesses. At the Chic Sugars shop, one of Oldham’s cake decorators has greeting cards for sale and another employee sells her homemade candles; and when the bakery is busy, they’ll contract out cookie business to other nearby bakeries.
“We try to keep it in the community,” she said.
ICSC’s Cegielski noted that throughout the country, 78% of small business shoppers agree that small businesses are crucial to local economies, “and that’s certainly true in New Jersey. New Jersey is known for its robust retail landscape, and small businesses are a big part of supporting that landscape and, consequently, the state’s economy.”
According to New Jersey’s Office of Small Business Advocacy, the state ranks No. 11 in the number of small businesses per state nationally. For some consumers, choosing where to spend their dollars can be a casual decision. But for small business owners, it’s their livelihood.
“I take it all very personally because this is my baby. Having spent 13 years, a lot of blood, sweat, literal tears, time away from my kids … When people shop local, I know its business, but it does hit personally. And it’s a badge of honor,” Oldham said.
