Shop Small In NH On Small Business Saturday

NEW HAMPSHIRE -- Hundreds of New Hampshire businesses are participating in Small Business Saturday this weekend. American Express founded the event in 2010 after the Great Recession to highlight small businesses. Last year, some 7,200 local business across the country participated.

"Shopping small has a significant and positive effect on local communities, and we hope Small Business Saturday will help to amplify that effect during the crucial holiday shopping season," Elizabeth Rutledge, chief marketing officer at American Express, said in a statement. "When we spend local, small businesses thrive. And when small businesses thrive, we all thrive."

In Concord, dozens of businesses in Concord Center, Thoreau Street and West Concord are participating in Small Business Saturday

American Express said U.S. small businesses contribute $4.8 trillion to the economy. It also reported:

• "An average of two-thirds of every dollar spent at small businesses in the United States stays in the community.
• Every dollar spent at a small business creates an additional 50 cents in local business activity as a result of employee spending and businesses purchasing local goods and services.
• In addition to small businesses directly employing members of the community, spending by those small businesses and their employees in the area also supports jobs. In fact, the study found, for every 10 jobs at a small business, another seven are supported in the local community."

Search New Hampshire small businesses in your community

Local business owners: share any deals you are promoting for Small Business Saturday by leaving a comment on this story.

Beth Dalbey, Patch National Staff, contributed to this report

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