Why Small Business Saturday wasn’t its usual success in Baton Rouge this year

This year’s Small Business Saturday―a national event that promotes small businesses and  incentivizes holiday shoppers to support them―wasn’t quite the success that it has been in the past, some Baton Rouge business owners say.

One factor blamed as “the cause of the unusual lack of traffic” was the 11 a.m. kickoff for the LSU-Texas A&M game, says Jordan Basham, owner of Instagram account WhereToGeaux225.

“As I drove around the city last Saturday morning, I was struck by how deserted the roads seemed,” says Basham, whose account is designed to build relationships within the local business sphere. “I stopped for lunch at a local restaurant on Government Street and was surprised to find only three other tables occupied at 12:30 p.m. The area was eerily quiet, like a ghost town.”

CounterSpace owner Sarah Joy Hays notes that sales at the bakery, events and retail shop were only a quarter of what they were last year.

While business owners like Hays and Blankenship were disheartened by the lack of business on what was supposed to be a bustling day, they are convinced that this was just a temporary blip.

The lack of shoppers may also be indicative of the shift to online retail shopping. Blankenship emphasizes that most small businesses offer a robust online experience, including Small Business Saturday deals.

Basham notes shoppers can support small businesses in other ways, such as engagement on  social media.

“Simple gestures like liking their social media posts, sharing them, tagging a friend in the comments, leaving a positive review, commenting on something nice or posting a picture with their product tagged can go a long way in showing our support,” Basham says.

This story originally appeared in an  Nov. 27 issue of Daily Report. To keep up with Baton Rouge business and politics, subscribe to the free Daily Report e-newsletter here.