On Saturday, Nov. 28, many Beaufort County business owners will debut new sales and incentives and promotional shopping bags — all in an effort to encourage residents to shop locally.

It’s part of the second annual Buy Local Day, which is an initiative started by Nikki Klapp of First South Bank, with the help of Cara Singleton and Randy Woodson, to encourage community business owners and the local economy.

First South Bank partners with the Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce and the Washington Harbor District Alliance to recruit businesses to participate.

Jeanne Niederhauser, special events coordinator at the Chamber of Commerce, said any business can participate in Buy Local Day, whether it is a member of the Chamber or not. She said the only condition is that a business agrees to run a special promotion on the day, whether that is discount prices, drawings or “grab bags.”

“Last year was the first year that they did this campaign, and it was really initiated through First South Bank,” she said. “They approached us last year to help them to recruit businesses.”

According to Klapp, the idea came from American Express’ Small Business Saturday, which offers incentives to cardholders for making three in-store transactions of at least $10.

She said it helps that the local initiative also coincides with one of the largest shopping days of the year — Black Friday.

Catherine Glover, executive director at the Chamber, said there is no cost to businesses for participating, except for selling merchandise at a discount under the promotions.

“Other than that it’s just an effort to really promote that day,” she said. “(Shoppers) get the recyclable — you can use it anytime — bag for participating.”

Glover said Buy Local Day can be a way to kick off the holiday season, which is a critical time of the year for businesses.

“For the local customer, it’s supporting your local businesses,” she said. “Supporting them…is just crucial for their success and to continue to be here and grow.”

Neiderhauser said the initiative will last for the entire day based on each business’ hours on Nov. 28 and includes participating businesses all over the county, although it has expanded to New Bern this year, and they are still hoping to expand it further.

Glover said the number of participating businesses so far has been a little lower than last year, but there is still time to sign up.

“It’s not too late,” she said. “It’s a message of supporting local businesses for the community. It’s like a win-win.”

 

To sign up to participate in Buy Local Day, businesses should contact Jeanne Niederhauser at 252-946-9168 or visit www.wbcchamber.com/our-events/buy-local-day for a registration form. To see a list of participating businesses, visit www.littlewashingtonnc.com/about-us/newsletter and scroll to the bottom of the page.