Since its launch in 2010, Small Business Saturday, has marked the beginning of the holiday season for many downtowns. But it takes work to make it a big draw.
“Trying to get people downtown for Small Business Saturday seems to be a losing proposition,” says Abel Gomez head of New Jersey’s Downtown Plainfield. “Most consumers don’t care about Small Business Saturday. You can put up all the signage that you want, but nobody really cares. So I tried to work the problem backwards: Let me try to get them here for something else.”
His idea was a 5K race called the Jingle Dash.
“Everybody will get little bells on their shoes,” Gomez tells Downtown Idea Exchange. He’s counting on the avidity of runners, who are more than willing to show up for road races.
“Those guys will go everywhere,” Gomez said.
Gomez hopes 300-500 runners will pay entry fees of $30 to $35. “Their families and friends come to support them,” he said. “If that’s the case, I have 1,000 to 1,500 people coming into the space between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.”
Small Business Saturday in Downtown Plainfield will also include a Winter Fest with music, ice carving, and people dressed as Santa Claus and the Grinch. A Winter Market will feature vendors that don’t compete with downtown merchants.
Gomez expects to boost Small Business Saturday sales and recoup the entire cost of the event from the race fees and sponsors.
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