By Zach Logan, Staff Writer
According to the National Retail Federation, Americans will each spend around $800 for gifts this holiday season. And with the holidays quickly approaching, local Savannah businesses are hoping that those dollars will be spent with them.
Jackie Schott operates shopmysavannah.com, a website that features a number of small businesses located in the Coastal Empire. She says that Savannah is known for having a thriving small business community, which in turn, invests its money back into the local area.
“When anyone shops local, you’re making a larger impact on the Savannah community,” Schott said. “For every dollar spent locally, more stays in the local community as opposed to spending it at big box stores, like Target or TJ Maxx.
According to Schott, local business owners tend to support a variety of local events and organizations and when shoppers spend their money locally; they are helping these businesses support the community.
“Local owners care about city ordinances and how that impacts the city, they are invested in life here in Savannah and therefore they are more likely to be involved,” Schott said. “By spending our money with them, we’re allowing them to keep their doors open and continue the good work that they do in our Savannah community.”
And when consumers shop locally, they could also be helping to support fellow Armstrong State University students. Amanda Pawlowski is currently a student of Armstrong’s Baccalaureate Nursing Program. When Amanda isn’t in lab or studying for her next exam, she is running her own business, Amanda’s Tanning Studio, located in Georgetown.
Amanda expects to be pretty busy within the next couple of weeks selling lots of gifts cards and tanning products. She mentions that by having her own small business, she is able to operate in a way that is different from the bigger tanning studios.
“I think our customers like us, because we do not require them to join lengthy memberships, where they feel obligated to tan for a long period of time. Basically, if someone wants to just tan one time, we allow them to do that without having to join a membership,” says Amanda.
Other businesses are also planning to be busy within the next few weeks. Emily Rice is a recent graduate of Armstrong State University and is the store manager at J.Paige Boutique located on Whitemarsh Island. Rice said November and December are usually busy months for the store and daily sales increase during the holidays.
An experience at J.Paige is different from shopping at the retail chains in Savannah. “Our customer service is number one. We always provide customers with elite service and love to play dress up with them. Our style is also funky and bold. We offer looks that not many stores carry,” Rice said.
A great way to support these local stores is by shopping on Small Business Saturday. On Nov. 29, local Savannah businesses will offer a variety of discounts and promotions.
Students can also like the Facebook pages of Amanda’s Tanning Studio and J.Paige for updates on promotions. J.Paige will have specially themed shopping nights within the coming days and will offer a 15% discount to Armstrong students who bring in this article.
