ObservanceSaturday, November 28, 2026
Small Business Saturday
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- The date changes each year. This page always shows the next one.
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Small Business Saturday falls on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, wedged between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and it was created by a credit card company. American Express launched it in 2010, during the recession, to push some of the holiday weekend's spending toward small and local businesses. Unlike the two days flanking it, it has been formally designated by the United States Senate, repeatedly and by name.
History
The day is a corporate initiative that acquired an official endorsement. American Express says it created Small Business Saturday "in the midst of the recession in 2010," placing it on the Saturday after Thanksgiving "to encourage people to Shop Small and bring more holiday shopping to small businesses." The company describes the Saturday as one part of a larger, year-round Shop Small movement, and says the first one, in 2010, was a success.
The following year it entered the congressional record. On November 10, 2011, Senator Mary Landrieu and thirty-two co-sponsors from both parties submitted S.Res. 320, which was considered and agreed to. It designated November 26, 2011 as "Small Business Saturday" and supported efforts "to encourage consumers to shop locally" and "to increase awareness of the value of locally owned small businesses and the impact of locally owned small businesses on the economy of the United States." American Express's account that the Senate passed a resolution in 2011 matches the record.
It then became a habit. The Senate designated the day again for November 24, 2012, in S.Res. 589, sponsored by Senator Olympia Snowe, and for November 29, 2014, in S.Res. 548, sponsored by Senator Maria Cantwell. Each was considered and agreed to. The resolutions make their case in findings rather than rhetoric: the 2014 text counts 28,200,000 small businesses in the United States, employing more than 48 percent of private-sector workers, paying more than 42 percent of private-sector payroll, and responsible for 63 percent of the net new jobs created between 1993 and 2013.
Two things are worth noting about the pairing. None of those resolutions mentions American Express. And the company's own pages, which state the founding year plainly, do not give the calendar date of that first Small Business Saturday in 2010.
Timeline
- 2010 — American Express creates Small Business Saturday, placing it on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and the first one is held that November.
- November 10, 2011 — Senator Mary Landrieu and thirty-two co-sponsors submit S.Res. 320; it is considered and agreed to, designating November 26, 2011 as Small Business Saturday.
- September 22, 2012 — S.Res. 589, sponsored by Senator Olympia Snowe, is considered and agreed to, designating November 24, 2012.
- September 16, 2014 — S.Res. 548, sponsored by Senator Maria Cantwell, is considered and agreed to, designating November 29, 2014, with findings counting 28,200,000 small businesses in the United States.
- Since 2010 — American Express describes the Saturday as one part of its broader, year-round Shop Small movement.
How to observe
The instruction in the Senate's own language is the simplest one available: shop locally. The practical version is to spend where the owner is on the premises — a hardware store, a bookshop, a repair counter, a restaurant that is not a franchise — and to do it on an errand you were going to run anyway, rather than as a gesture.
Two things are worth more to a small business than one Saturday's purchase. The first is a review: a few specific sentences on whichever platform your neighbors actually read. The second is a gift card or a deposit against future work, which moves cash into the business now, in the season when it needs it.
If you run a small business yourself, the Senate resolutions are public documents you can quote in your own promotion, and they cost nothing to use. American Express's Shop Small program is a sponsor's marketing platform, which you may or may not want to join. The day works either way.
Frequently asked questions
Is Small Business Saturday a federal holiday?
No. The 11 legal public holidays listed in 5 U.S.C. 6103(a) do not include it. The Senate has designated particular dates as Small Business Saturday by resolution in several years, which is a formal expression of support rather than the creation of a holiday.
Who started Small Business Saturday?
American Express, in 2010. The company says it created the day "in the midst of the recession in 2010" and set it on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It remains a sponsored initiative, though the Senate resolutions endorsing the date do not mention the company.
When is Small Business Saturday?
The Saturday after Thanksgiving. Because federal law places Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November, the Saturday falls between November 24 and November 30.
Has Congress officially recognized it?
The Senate has, several times, one year at a time. S.Res. 320 designated November 26, 2011; S.Res. 589 designated November 24, 2012; S.Res. 548 designated November 29, 2014. Each was considered and agreed to. These are Senate resolutions rather than statutes, and they oblige no one to do anything.
How much do people spend on Small Business Saturday?
This page does not give a figure. Spending and participation totals for the day circulate widely every year, but none could be traced to a primary record for this page, so none is published here rather than repeating a number that cannot be checked.
When is Small Business Saturday?
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | November 28 | Saturday |
| 2027 | November 27 | Saturday |
| 2028 | November 25 | Saturday |
| 2029 | November 24 | Saturday |
| 2030 | November 30 | Saturday |
Sources
- American Express, About Shop Small for Merchants — https://www.americanexpress.com/us/merchant/shop-small/about.html → the creation of Small Business Saturday "in the midst of the recession in 2010"; its placement on the Saturday after Thanksgiving; the first one in 2010; the Senate's passage of a resolution in support in 2011; Small Business Saturday as one part of the larger Shop Small movement.
- American Express, Shop Small — https://www.americanexpress.com/us/merchant/shop-small.html → "American Express founded Small Business Saturday in 2010"; Shop Small as a year-round movement.
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, S.Res. 320, 112th Congress, as agreed to — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-112sres320ats/html/BILLS-112sres320ats.htm → submitted November 10, 2011 by Senator Landrieu with thirty-two co-sponsors; considered and agreed to; designates November 26, 2011 as Small Business Saturday; the resolving clause on shopping locally and on awareness of locally owned small businesses.
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, S.Res. 589, 112th Congress, as agreed to — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-112sres589ats/html/BILLS-112sres589ats.htm → submitted September 22, 2012 by Senator Snowe; considered and agreed to; designates November 24, 2012.
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, S.Res. 548, 113th Congress, as agreed to — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-113sres548ats/html/BILLS-113sres548ats.htm → submitted September 16, 2014 by Senator Cantwell; considered and agreed to; designates November 29, 2014; the findings on 28,200,000 small businesses, more than 48 percent of private-sector employment, more than 42 percent of private-sector payroll, and 63 percent of net new jobs created from 1993 through 2013.
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, United States Code, 2023 Edition, 5 U.S.C. 6103 — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title5/html/USCODE-2023-title5-partIII-subpartE-chap61-subchapI-sec6103.htm → the 11 legal public holidays, which do not include Small Business Saturday; Thanksgiving Day as the fourth Thursday in November.
Omitted for want of a source: the calendar date of the first Small Business Saturday in 2010, which American Express does not state on its own pages; any endorsement or co-sponsorship by the Small Business Administration, whose site and newsroom carried nothing on the day when checked; and all annual spending and participation totals. No source conflict arose — American Express's claim of a 2011 Senate resolution is corroborated by S.Res. 320 itself.
Not used as sources: nationaltoday, nationaldaycalendar, checkiday, timeanddate, and comparable aggregator and content-farm pages.
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