Small but Mighty

Category Business

As the Business Improvement District for Downtown Tempe, Downtown Tempe Authority has been a downtown Neighborhood Champion for years, rallying the community with events and activities in support of the small businesses in the district.

Did you know that almost 70% of the businesses in Downtown Tempe are independent, locally-owned businesses? They may be small, but they have a mighty impact in Downtown Tempe.

Small Business Saturday was started by American Express in 2010 when small businesses were reeling from the recession and they wanted to encourage people to support small businesses (by using their American Express cards no doubt). In 2011, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution in support of the day and a movement was born.

And what a successful movement it’s been: in 2021, over $20 billion was spent on Small Business Saturday. How amazing is that? Hopefully, 2022 will build and surpass last year’s Small Business Saturday.

In Downtown Tempe, we always celebrate Shop Small Saturday Weekend with either a parade – the Fantasy of Lights Street Parade + Tree Lighting – or a big football game featuring state rivals – Arizona State University and the University of Arizona - vying for the Territorial Cup. On most Small Business Saturdays, downtown is hopping with football game and/or parade fans and often, the Shop Small festivities are drowned out by the raucous.

That’s why this year, we’ll be celebrating our small businesses all season long. We invite you to SHOP LOCAL and keep all of Downtown Tempe's local businesses in mind this holiday season.

We’re inviting you to be part of the SHOP LOCAL movement this year. Shop the Small Businesses in Downtown Tempe on November 26 - and every day of the year - and support the small businesses that make our community so great.