MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD)- Shoppers at the Mount Pleasant Towne Center are supporting local businesses as Christmas gift shopping begins.
“So family, all of that involved and grandparents the goal is to get something local,” said Wesley Hoover, who was shopping at the Southern Tide Store by M. Dumas and Sons.
“It means everything. It means that we have the support of our community. I think small business is what our country is all about,” said Jessica Kiss, who was buying clothes at Lizard Thickett.
The owners of small businesses say that Black Friday shopping is key for small businesses to make money.
“I would say only about 10 percent (of sales come from Black Friday). We’ll do more during the Christmas season. But, don’t get me wrong today is a huge day for us,” said Scott Herron, of M. Dumas and Sons. “I think in this day and age of online sales and stuff it’s huge. It’s huge for us to still capture our local customers.”
“It’s been wonderful. Even this year with the rain we still had a line. We open at 6 a.m. and we had a line of people. Some people lined up in the middle of the night,” said Samantha Herwig of Lizard Thickett. “We will continue to have good deals and it is a huge portion of our overall sales. November and December basically are so much bigger than six months of the year.”
People who shop at small businesses in the town can get a gift for themselves through the Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce’s (MPCC) ‘Shop Where You Live!’ campaign.
“As part of the event, every Tuesday in December, the chamber will give away a $100 Gift Card to one shopper who posts a photo of their visit to a participating Mount Pleasant business on Instagram, with the location tagged, and with the account tags @mtpchamber and @expereiencemp,” said the MPCC.
The giveaway starts on Black Friday and lasts through the end of the year.
“The gift card, purchased by MPCC, will be from the business the winner patronized to support Shop Where You Live! As an incentive for MPCC members, photos of your business will be included in social media,” said the MPCC.
