Small Business Saturday 2026: A Prep Checklist for Solo Sellers

Small Business Saturday 2026 is November 28. Get a week-by-week prep checklist, promo ideas that protect your margin, and a plan to keep checkout lines short.

Entrepreneurship

Sep 29, 2026

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Small Business Saturday 2026 is November 28, the day after Black Friday. American Express founded it in 2010, and the SBA cosponsors it.
Start 6 to 8 weeks out: pick one offer, line up a partner shop or vendor, and order stock by mid-October.
Bundles and gifts with purchase raise the order size without cutting prices. Post the offer 2 weeks ahead and again on the day.
The Shop Small Map is free for eligible businesses that accept American Express. List early, since changes take 2 to 3 business days.
Keep the line moving with JIM Tap to Pay at 1.99% per sale, tips built in, and sales on your JIM Card in seconds.

Small Business Saturday 2026 falls on November 28, and the prep that pays off starts in early October. For a solo seller or market vendor, that means one strong offer, enough stock, and a checkout that keeps the line moving.

Shoppers still show up for it: they reported spending an estimated $18 billion at small businesses on the 2025 event, according to American Express.

When is Small Business Saturday 2026?

Mark Saturday, November 28, 2026. Small Business Saturday always lands on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) lists November 28 as this year's date. That puts it in the middle of a four-day selling stretch:

Day	2026 date
Thanksgiving	Thursday, November 26
Black Friday	Friday, November 27
Small Business Saturday	Saturday, November 28
Cyber Monday	Monday, November 30

American Express founded the day in 2010, and the SBA has cosponsored it since 2011. The U.S. Senate has recognized it too: it agreed to S.Res.569 by unanimous consent in 2016. You do not have to sign up or pay anything to take part. Any independent seller can run a Small Business Saturday offer.

This guide is updated every year with the new date and the latest survey results. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Is Small Business Saturday worth preparing for?

Yes, if your buyers are local and you sell something giftable. In the 2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study, over half of the 500 small business owners surveyed estimated that Small Business Saturday sales contribute up to 15% of their annual revenue.

Those owners run businesses with a physical location, so read the number as a ceiling, not a forecast for your booth. The takeaway still holds: one Saturday can carry real weight in your year. If most of your sales happen face to face, make November 28 your main event. If most buyers find you online, run the same offer on your website through Cyber Monday.

What should your Small Business Saturday checklist include?

Work backward from November 28 in five stages. Each one has a single job:

When	Task	Why it matters
6 to 8 weeks out (Oct 3 to Oct 17)	Choose one offer, line up a partner, order stock and packaging	Suppliers and partners need lead time before the holiday rush
2 weeks out (Nov 14)	Announce the offer, open preorders, update your map and website listings	Map changes take 2 to 3 business days, and buyers need reminders
The week of (Nov 23 to Nov 27)	Pack bundles, price everything, charge phones, restock after Black Friday	Prep at home saves time on every sale at the table
The day of (Nov 28)	Sell, bag, and collect emails or follows	Every buyer you can reach again is a December sale
After (Nov 29 to Dec 5)	Thank buyers, compare results, push December orders	Buyers still need gifts for the rest of December

Small Business Saturday 2026 prep timeline from October 3 to December 5, with the event on November 28

What are the best Small Business Saturday promotion ideas?

Pick one offer you can explain in five words. A bundle or a gift with purchase beats a storewide discount, because it raises the order size instead of cutting your price.

American Express also offers free Shop Small marketing materials, including social posts and printable posters, and you do not need to accept American Express cards to download them. Swap in your own product photos so the posts look like your table, not a template.

How do you get your business on the Shop Small Map?

List your business for free if you accept American Express cards. If you do not, skip the map and use the marketing kit. The American Express Map FAQs set these rules, accessed September 2026:

Who qualifies: U.S. businesses that accept American Express cards, with 1 to 25 locations and no more than $7 million in annual American Express charge volume.
No storefront: Sellers with no physical address for shoppers to visit can list in the Online Directory instead of the map.
Who is left out: The excluded categories include direct sellers, nonprofits, and peer-to-peer payments, among others.
Payment apps: If you take American Express through a payment app, you may qualify, depending on whether the app shares enough data with American Express. Log in to your merchant profile or call to check.
Timing: Amex says changes can take 2 to 3 business days to appear, so finish your listing by the 2-week mark.

Decision tree showing whether a seller can join the Shop Small Map, the Online Directory, or use the free marketing kit

How much stock and help do you need for Small Business Saturday?

Stock for your best day, not your average one. Pull your top Saturday from the last 3 months, count units sold per item, and bring more of your top 3 sellers than you sold that day. Keep the extra in labeled bins under the table so a restock takes seconds.

The JIM AI agent reads your sales history, so asking "What was my best day?" in the app returns the number to plan from. For table setup and booth basics, see how to start a flea market business.

Recruit one helper, even for 3 hours at peak. Split the jobs: you sell and take payments, they bag, restock, and answer "Do you have this in blue?" If you also sell on Black Friday, every card sale loads your JIM Card in seconds, so you can buy supplies Friday night with that day's sales instead of waiting 1 to 3 business days for a bank payout.

How do you take payments fast when the line gets long?

Take cards on your phone, price in round numbers, and keep bundles pre-bagged. Every second at checkout is a shopper deciding whether to wait.

Tap to Pay: JIM Tap to Pay turns your iPhone or Android phone with NFC into a card terminal for 1.99% per sale, with no reader to buy and no monthly fee. On a $40 bundle, the fee is $0.80.
Cards and wallets: It accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and JCB, plus Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. The minimum sale is $1.
Tips: Turn on tipping in the app and the customer sees a tip screen before paying, with no extra fee.
Round prices: Prices like $10, $25, and $40 are faster to type and easier to read from your sign.
Signal check: Tap to Pay needs a data connection, so test Wi-Fi or cell service at your spot the week before and bring a power bank.

Instant settlements subject to terms. JIM is a financial technology company, not a bank; banking services are provided by Lead Bank, Member FDIC. New to taking cards on a phone? Read what a contactless payment is and how to accept credit card payments without a machine.

What should you do after Small Business Saturday?

Follow up within 48 hours, while shoppers still remember your table. Then turn the weekend into December sales:

Say thanks: Post a thank-you with a photo of your table and tag any partner shop. Email or text the buyers who opted in.
Check the numbers: Compare Saturday with Black Friday and a normal Saturday: total sales, average sale, and top 3 items. Ask the JIM AI agent "How did yesterday close?" for the totals.
Keep selling online: Your free JIM Website comes with a product catalog and checkout, so buyers who missed you can still order. Sales on the site cost 4.99% + $0.30.
Book the next market: Ask the JIM AI agent "Any markets near me this Saturday?" to find December holiday markets picked for your business type.

You have 8 weeks from October 3 to get ready for November 28. Start with checkout: with JIM, a $40 bundle costs $0.80 at 1.99%, and the money lands on your JIM Card in seconds to restock for the next sale. Download JIM and set up my seller profile.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Small Business Saturday 2026?

Saturday, November 28, 2026. It always falls on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Who started Small Business Saturday?

American Express founded it in 2010 to bring holiday shoppers to small businesses. The U.S. Small Business Administration has cosponsored it since 2011.

Is Small Business Saturday a federal holiday?

No. It is a shopping day, not a day off. The SBA cosponsors it, and the U.S. Senate has recognized it by resolution.

Do you have to accept American Express to take part in Small Business Saturday?

No. Any small business can run a Small Business Saturday offer, and the free Shop Small marketing materials do not require card acceptance. You only need to accept American Express cards to appear on the Shop Small Map.

How much do people spend on Small Business Saturday?

Shoppers reported spending an estimated $18 billion at small businesses on Small Business Saturday 2025, according to an American Express consumer survey. The figure is self-reported, not actual receipts.

What are good Small Business Saturday ideas for small businesses?

Run one clear offer, like a pre-wrapped gift bundle or a free gift above a spend line, and team up with a nearby shop or vendor to share customers. Post it 2 weeks ahead and again on the day.