Small Business Saturday 2025 In Alexandria: See Sales, Deals

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Saturday, Nov. 29, is a crucial day for independently owned local businesses in Alexandria. It’s Small Business Saturday, the kickoff to “shop small” events that emphasize the power of dollars spent in local communities.

Founded by American Express in 2010, Small Business Saturday is sandwiched between the major Black Friday retail shopping holiday, which tends to favor national brands, and Cyber Monday, an online shopping event that this year takes place on Dec. 1.

The stakes for small businesses are higher than ever this holiday shopping season. They have faced increased operating costs, supply chain disruptions and overall market uncertainty. Unlike large big box retailers, they often lack the financial resources and operational flexibility to easily absorb increased costs.

In Alexandria, Small Business Saturday showcases the city's various locally-owned boutiques and other businesses. Participating boutiques in Old Town will offer a gift with purchase. Visit Alexandria has a full guide to small businesses worth checking out.

Small Business Saturday follows Plaid Friday, which is the Black Friday version for Alexandria's small businesses. Participating small businesses will offer specials. There is free parking at metered spaces in the City of Alexandria on Friday.

Shopping local also earns rewards through ALX Open Rewards, an app supported by the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership.

Since it started in 2010, consumers have reported spending an estimated $210 billion at small businesses across all 15 Small Business Saturdays combined.

There are 880,366 small businesses in Virginia, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2025 state profiles. That represents 99.6 percent of Virginia's businesses. The 1.6 million small business employees represent 45.9 percent of the employees in the state.

Local businesses depend on increased sales in the last few months of the year to help them reach their revenue goals, and you’ll find plenty of in-store cheer and holiday happenings that will make the shopping experience fun.

Locally owned businesses recirculate a far greater percentage of revenue locally compared to absentee-owned businesses, according to the American Independent Business Alliance. Independents return about 48 percent of their revenues back into the local economy, compared to 14 percent returned to the local economy by chains.

Small businesses are typically defined by the federal government as those with fewer than 500 employees. They are responsible for about two of every three jobs since 1995, according to the Small Business Administration. Even a partial collapse of small businesses could weaken the overall U.S. economy.