Shop Small began in 2010 when American Express created Small Business Saturday® to encourage support for small businesses. Over a decade later, Shop Small has grown to be a year-round movement that supports small businesses across the globe, and Small Business Saturday continues to be an annual holiday shopping tradition.

Main Street America has been a proud supporter of Shop Small and Small Business Saturday since its founding. Since 2010, we have teamed up with American Express® to help rally communities around their small businesses through the Neighborhood Champion program. Each year, we encourage Main Street communities to sign up for the Neighborhood Champion program to encourage your community members to shop locally. 

Participants in the Neighborhood Champion program:

- Rally your community to Shop Small on Small Business Saturday and throughout the holiday season.
- Plan and host a local event on Small Business Saturday in partnership with small businesses in your community.
- Distribute a complimentary Shop Small kit of merchandise that encourages holiday shopping and supporting small businesses all season long.

All Main Street America members are pre-qualified to serve as Neighborhood Champions on a first-come, first served basis. Space is limited so claim your spot before applications close. All you need to do is fill out a brief Neighborhood Champion application and indicate you were referred by the National Main Street Center (NMSC).

We’re sorry, the Neighborhood Champion application period has ended. Stay tuned for more information regarding the 2026 program coming this fall.

Small Business Saturday is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses and communities across the country and is part of the larger Shop Small Movement. Founded by American Express in 2010, this day is celebrated each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving in the U.S. Since its launch in 2010, U.S. consumers have reported spending an estimated $223 billion at small businesses on Small Business Saturday.¹

¹ This spend statistic is an aggregate of the average spend as reported by consumers who shopped small on Small Business Saturday in surveys commissioned by American Express reporting spend habits on Small Business Saturday since 2012. It does not reflect actual receipts, sales or American Express Card Member spending data. Each such survey was conducted online among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. The data was projected from the samples based on then-current U.S. Census estimates of the U.S. adult population (18+).