BOISE, Idaho — Businesses in Boise were pleasantly surprised by the community's turnout on Small Business Saturday. Many shops were open but required masks, social distancing and had limited capacity but people still lined up in the cold, to support small businesses.
“It’s been a pretty good day so far, we have had a line all afternoon, this morning we tried some early shopping appointments,” Said Marketing and Promotions Director at Record Exchange, Chad Dryden.
Dryden has been the marketing director at the Record Exchange for eleven years, he said that black Friday and Small Business Saturday are the shop’s busiest day of the year. This year, many local business owners didn’t know what to expect.
“It is a much more mellow experience for everybody, but I think the fact that the sales have been as strong as they have the past two days, is an encouraging thing for us,” he said.
Dryden also mentioned that the shop has put time into increasing its online presence and made many products available for shipping. People showed their support in person and largely online Saturday.
“Seeing people support us in that way today has been really cool, a lot of people who have shopped online today have been opting for curbside service, so we are seeing people who are choosing to be safe but to still support us,” Dryden said.
Even shops like Idaho Made in downtown Boise, which doesn’t bank on online sales, saw higher than expected sales.
“It’s just a good boost to our artists to know that people still want to shop here, they don’t mind the hassle and they don’t mind the masks, and they don’t mind the lines and it just lets us know that we are still okay,” said Idaho Made owner, Molly Seaman.
Both shops hope that the community support seen on Saturday stays consistent throughout the holiday season because they need it.