Small Business Saturday has been good for Tracey Bowes, who opened Pressed, a bookstore and coffee shop at 1535 W. Eighth St., in April 2018.

The concept for a day focused on doing business with independent restaurants and retailers was introduced by American Express in 2010 as the United States continued to wrestle with fallout from the Great Recession.

The event has taken hold, both in Erie and across the nation, gaining attention as part of a broader Shop Small movement.

The results can be measured.

In 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, American consumers spent an estimated $19.8 billion at independent retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturday, up from $19.6 billion the previous year.

In her first three years in business, Bowes has seen the difference that Small Business Saturday can make.

Regardless of the time of year, Saturday is typically the busiest day of the week, she said.

"Small Business Saturday, I would say in the past, has been three times a normal Saturday," she said. "It's our busiest day of the year."

More: Here's a look at the new retailers coming soon to downtown Erie as part of EDDC development

Holiday shopping 2021

Early indications have Bowes expecting good things when the doors open Saturday.

"Based on how the summer and fall have been this past year, I am expecting even more people to show up," she said.

In downtown Erie, Emily George, owner of Pointe Foure, at 2508 Peach St., plans a soft opening on Saturday for her new location, the Dollhouse at Pointe Foure at 423 State St. She is one of several retailers expected to open this week in the 400 block of State Street in newly renovated buildings owned by the Erie Downtown Development Corp.

George, who has been in talks with the EDDC for about two years, said she's excited that her opening day comes on an important day on the retail calendar and at a time when other events are taking place downtown, including the opening of Flagship City Food Hall on Monday and the opening of two other State Street retailers this week

"Small Business Saturday is my favorite holiday," she said. "I have always been a big fan."

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George said she has done well in the past on this first Saturday after Thanksgiving.

"It's truly wonderful to see people come out to support you," she said. "You never know how it's going to turn out."

George, whose State Street location was still a construction zone Nov. 18, said she might not be fully settled into her new space when it's time to open the doors Saturday.

"I am OK with it being a soft opening," she said. "We knew it was going to come down to the wire."

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Other reasons to shop

New brick-and-mortar stores won't be the only reason for shoppers to venture out on Saturday.

Dave Tamulonis, event manager for the Erie Downtown Partnership, said his group has been working to coordinate pop-up vendor events in three different locations on Saturday. Locations include the Boston Store building, in the holiday village in Perry Square and in the Cashier's House, a building owned by the EDDC at 417 State St.

"It's the largest Small Business Saturday event we have ever done downtown," Tamulonis said. Between 40 and 50 vendors have signed up to participate.

Vendors will sell a wide range of items, including baked goods, crafts, candles, prints, paper and vintage clothing.

Tamulonis said his group is partnering with the EDDC on the event, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

He's hoping that visitors to those pop-up events — and he's expecting hundreds of them — will get a sense of what Erie has to offer.

"Downtown is open for business all year-round," he said. "We are hoping to get people downtown to see all the things that are happening."

John Buchna, executive director of the Erie Downtown Partnership, sees a growing desire to support local businesses.

New downtown development by the EDDC makes that easier, he said.

"It makes shopping more concentrated," he said.

Buchna, whose organization continues to sell gift cards for downtown businesses, said he encourages people to think beyond retail stores when they think about supporting local business.

"You are getting your hair cut. You are getting a meal out," he said. "You can get a massage and then go grab a coffee. You can cluster many different things that support your local economy."

If supporting the local economy is the goal, Bowes argues that ordering online isn't the way to do it.

"The chain stores are better than ordering online," she said. "They are still employing local people who spend their money in the community.

Her hope, though, is that people will spend their money in independently owned stores like hers.

"I think it's important for many reasons," she said. "I think we all enjoy the experience of going into a store. The more you shop online, the more you are voting to not have those stores available."

She also argues that businesses like her own support local projects and charities.

"The reason to support local is that all of that money, and the profits, are going back to support local human beings who spend it and support other local human beings," she said.

More: From Turkey Trots to Christmas shows, here are holiday events not to miss in the Erie area

Contact Jim Martin at 814-870-1668 or jmartin@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNMartin.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Small Business Saturday: New retailers set to open in downtown Erie