Buy Local, Local Economy, Support Small Business

Nova Scotian Local Deals this Canadian Black Friday & Small Business Saturday

Posted on by Oliver Keith
Small & Local Blog Black Friday Deals Nova Scotia
09
Nov

Here we go again, Canadian Black Friday shopping. We’ve all seen those clips on YouTube – the ones of endless shoppers and pandemonium in a Walmart. Don’t get me wrong. Black Friday is tempting. I have had the same laptop for longer than Cyber Monday has even existed. And, unfortunately, even a sustainability nerd like myself sees “66% off a new laptop” and thinks… “why not?”

But while new laptops and gift-giving make Black Friday special, it can be a sticking point for small local businesses. In all the big business marketing hustle and bustle, it can be hard to get your small business sale noticed. 

long lines of Black Friday shoppers at a big box store. Canadian Black Friday
The Halifax Zoo. Also known as the Bayers Lake Walmart on Black Friday.

So we thought we’d help.

When we are all looking for hot deals, sweet prices, and more let’s draw some much needed attention to awesome local small business deals – you’ll find those at the end of the blog! AND keep checking back as we’ll be updating as new Nova Scotia Local Black Friday Deals come in!

Before that, let’s explore how getting small local business deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday (and of course Small Business Saturday sandwiched in between) will contribute a multitude of benefits for you, your community, the local economy, AND the planet!

What to Consider

Again, I don’t blame anyone if they choose to not shop local this Canadian Black Friday. After all, $200 off a laptop at Costco? Come on. In fact vLife contributor, Erin Casey, wrote on this very topic in last year’s vLife Black Friday blog. We’re not here to make anyone feel guilty!

Having said that, here are some things to consider when choosing how to engage with Black Friday fun.

Use it or Lose it

Small, local businesses are the backbone of the Canadian economy. It’s the heart of our dollar. Of all people in Canada, small businesses make up 98.1% of all employer businesses in 2021. That’s 9.7 million people or 66% of the Canadian labor force. By comparison, according to StatsCan, “medium-sized businesses employed 3.2 million individuals (21.2% of the labor force), and large businesses employ 2.3 million individuals (14.8% of the labor force).”

Buying at local businesses then, from these numbers, means really supporting your community and growing the local economy. Those around you are hired proportionally more by small businesses than big. So, purchasing from small local businesses means giving back more to those around you. 

Your Dollars Stay Local

But you don’t need to be doing all the work. Small local businesses keep the buy-local sentiment going. 75% of small local business retailers also buy from local businesses. 84% of small local businesses donate time & money to local charities. This is all further keeping your dollars within the community. You can then think of this whole process like recycling – but with your hard earned cash.

Here’s how.

The idea behind buying local is that, through adding to local businesses, more of your purchase dollars recycles into the local community, and then, back to you.

Want a nicer coffee shop? Want more cool small indie businesses? Want to support your local community? Want better roads and parks? It helps when you recycle more of your purchase dollars into your local community through supporting small businesses. 

To illustrate, consider the following: 

  • If a person spends $100 locally, the business owner will be in a position to spend more money themselves
  • These employers will, more then likely, spend this money on the business itself, its local employees, or perhaps even the community Cranes at the Port of Halifax. Canadian Black Friday
  • There will then be a cascading effect in the local economy
  • If you bought stuff off of Amazon instead of buying locally, it is argued, the follow-on extra expenditures would happen elsewhere, not locally. Thus, your community does not reap the benefits. 
  • Boom. Recycling more of your income back into the local economy with buying local! You can check out our benefits of buying local explainer video to see how all this works.

Keeping it Green

And buying local is recycling in the green sense as well. Thinking of it simply – buying local reduces the travel required for the product to reach you. If you got new shoes from Amazon, or a new plate from Walmart, the miles of travel involved to bring those to you, and resulting carbon emissions, are huge. By contrast, if you were to be able to get new shoes, or a plate, from a small local provider, your carbon emissions are much less – thus reducing the overall carbon footprint of purchasing that product. 

Small Business is not the Same as Local Business 

Let’s Break it down: 

  • According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, 65% of small businesses have had to take on debt, at an average of $160,000, just to survive the past two years of COVID-19 and inflation 
  • Of those businesses, only 40% of them are back to normal of small businesses are back to “normal revenues for this time of the year”
  • Another 27% of small businesses say they are fully recovered
  • Large businesses, since then, have exploded in regards to profits 

Remember when shopping this Canadian Black Friday at small businesses, you’re supporting those business owners who may need it most – not to mention growing the local economy by contributing to the pandemic recovery effort as well!

Colourful small business storefronts in Halifax Nova Scotia.

Back to Black Friday – What you Need to Know

Enough about the nuances of buying local, let’s get back to the deals.

Here are the dates!

  • Canadian Black Friday, this year, is November 25th. And like many larger corporations, the deals may run strictly on Black Friday, but many may start the week of, and/or extend after. Another reason to keep checking back here to see if any new Nova Scotia deals have been added!
  • Small Business Saturday is on November 26th
  • And, no surprise, Cyber Monday is November 28th

Local Sales 

And last but not least, here are some of the deals currently being advertised by Nova Scotia small local businesses this Black Friday season – keep checking back as we’ll be adding more Local Black Friday deals in the coming days as we get them:

  • Sincerely, Skin: Spa and Clinical Skin Care Laser Services & Products servicing Halifax since 2010.
  • Terry Kelly Live 90 minute Holiday Concert Discounts on bookings made for dates up to Dec 23rd.
  • Wildpier Beauty is an Indigenous Canadian owned business that specializes in beauty products that provide real results. Our vision is to help all types of bodies feel amazing in their skin – the natural way.
    • 35% off all of our natural exfoliating products & everything on site
  • Black Bow Gift Company

Is your Nova Scotia Small Indie business also offering Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday sale? Great! Post in the comments below so we can all benefit!

Oliver Keith