Small Business Saturday: Amex and Etsy Partner, Encourage your Favorite Merchants to Participate

With the terms of  2014 Small Business Saturday more favorable than ever, American Express card holders are dusting off all of their American Express Cards eagerly awaiting for November 29th, when we can get up to three $10 statement credits per registered Amex card when we shop at qualifying small business merchants.

The online small business newsletter ShopTalk reported last night that American Express and the e-commerce website, Etsy have “announced a new partnership opportunity that seeks to help online and brick-and-mortar retailers maximize Small Business Saturday sales.”

The article states:

American Express OPEN and Etsy have announced a new partnership opportunity that seeks to help online and brick-and-mortar retailers maximize Small Business Saturday sales.

The two companies are encouraging boutiques and Etsy sellers to team up and organize trunk shows on Small Business Saturday, which falls on Nov. 29 between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Founded by American Express in 2010, Small Business Saturday seeks to promote small businesses and encourage holiday shoppers to spend money at locally-owned independent shops.

The trunk shows are intended to provide Etsy sellers the opportunity to put their products in front of customers in a traditional retail setting, while boutique owners can increase foot traffic by diversify their products and supporting a local artist.

The partnership comes with other perks, such as a trunk show kit with promotional materials, one $25 Etsy gift card to help with purchasing supplies from sellers and two $25 American Express shop small reward cards.

To participate, businesses must register for the trunk show by Oct. 24.

The Etsy Wholesale page on Tumblr, entitled Source Small with Etsy on Small Business Saturday November 29th, states:

We know that our Etsy boutique owners wear lots of hats (always fashionable ones, mind you) from tending the shop, to keeping the books, to fielding customer special order requests, their work and dedication keeps the wheels turning, the whole ship running smoothly.

Small Business Saturday® is a day dedicated to celebrating the small businesses that create jobs, boost the economy, and preserve neighborhoods around the country.

This year, Etsy is supporting the movement by encouraging small business owners, like you, to source product from local Etsy sellers for a trunk show on Small Business Saturday, November 29.

When you source products from local Etsy sellers, you help to make a difference in your neighborhood.

To help with your trunk show you will receive:

• One $25 Etsy Gift Card to purchase supplies from Etsy Sellers
• Two $25 American Express® Shop Small Reward Cards
• A trunk show kit filled with bags, a welcome mat, and other promotional material to make your day special*
• Presence on our dedicated Small Business Saturday Eventbrite Page

Plus one lucky winner will receive the chance to win a design consultation with Rue Magazine and up to $5,000 for a store refresh**.

Buyers must be an Etsy Wholesale member to be eligible.

The above website contains further instructions on how to participate in the Etsy trunk show promotion.

What does this mean for us consumers?  What can we do in the interim besides search our sock drawers for all of our hidden Amex cards, or possibly apply for a few new cards or add authorized users to our existing cards?
What’s important now for me is to encourage the small businesses I know and love (and want to spend money at) to participate in Small Business Saturday.  It’s a win-win for both the merchant and me, so I’m going to ask them, tweet them, call them, etc. and spread the gospel news of Small Business Saturday in case they don’t already know!