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Moving From Big Box Stores To The Corner Store
Now that you've had your chance to wade through crowds upon crowds at your favorite big box retailer, local businesses are hoping you won't forget about them.

Saturday is being known across the country as "Small Business Saturday" -- it's an idea that was started by American Express, but is a way to encourage some of the holiday weekend traffic and revenue to be directed toward local businesses.

One of the biggest cheerleaders for "Small Business Saturday" locally is Stone Alley Books and Collectibles owner Ben Stomberg, who tells WGIL he's not looking so much at the fact that a major corporation is behind this...

"I can't say I'm a big fan of credit card companies in general, but in this case I believe the American Express Card Company's heart is in the right place at least," he said. "They are promoting themselves but they're also really giving small businesses a chance to promote themselves better than they usual do."

"I've gotten free facebook ads the past two weeks and that's been great."

So much so, Stomberg says, that he believes those internet ads have actually increased traffic into his South Seminary Street store recently.

He says Small Business Saturday, for him, is more of a platform for small businesses to remind the public how important it is to support small businesses.
11 25 11 by Newsroom
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