I’m backing small businesses this Black Friday and 71% of consumers are joining me

Black Friday is the biggest shopping event of the year, with practically every behemoth retail business running huge campaigns and offering sizable discounts over the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend. For small businesses, often already operating on smaller profit margins, it can be hard to compete. Yet, according to a new study by GoDaddy, one of the best website builders , small businesses are likely to see an increase in sales this holiday shopping reason. The study found that 71% of respondents said that they were willing to pay morewhen buying from small businesses during the Black Friday sales and throughout the holiday season. In fact, an impressive 53% of respondents said that they would be willing to spend 10% more to support small businesses over larger retailers.

Supporting small businesses during Black Friday

Although I will certainly be making some purchases from large retailers this Black Friday, I will also be looking for ways to support small and local businesses wherever possible. The GoDaddy study found that, like me, the largest proportion of respondents (30%) noted that wanting to support the local economy was the biggest reason for shopping with local businesses. Check out my list of the best Black Friday website builder deals . But this isn't the only reason to go small. 18% of respondents claimed that by buying from small businesses they expected to receive better customer service and a further 13% highlighted that they bought from small businesses because they liked handmade or unique products. Around two-thirds of respondents also mentioned that they intend on treating themselves over the holiday season. Of course, recent economic trends may impact small business success during Black Friday. 65% of respondents agreed that inflation will have an impact on their shopping habits this season. For me, this means being smarter with my spending this year. I've already done my research on what I want to buy as gifts, with a mix of products from large retailers and small businesses. I'll be checking what deals I can get on those products as we run up to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.

About the study

The study by GoDaddy compared two surveys in which consumers from the US were asked about their holiday shopping habits. One survey was conducted in October 2024 going to a total of 1,247 respondents and the other in September 2024 going to 1,520 respondents.