MINNEAPOLIS — Small Business Saturday helped give some small businesses the boost they needed.
According to a report by Bankrate, 60 percent of holiday shoppers are likely to spend on Small Business Saturday, higher than 56 percent of shoppers who are likely to shop on Black Friday.
The National Retail Federation said consumer spending is returning to pre-pandemic levels this holiday season. A few Minneapolis business owners said that reflected their experience on Saturday.
"I think this year is better," said Nancy Miller, who co-owns Antiques on Mainstreet in Hopkins.
"It's very busy," said Miller. "Today has been a great day."
Across the street from Miller's antique store, Ultimate Collectibles was packed with customers.
"We've seen quite a few spikes today," said Sports Card Manager Kelly Wells.
Wells said the business is doing as good if not better than last year.
"We're starting to see it go back to normal," said Wells.
In Linden Hills, customers are helping Paperback Exchange owner Andy Hersey start a new chapter and move past COVID.
"Initially, it wasn't good, but it wasn't good for anybody," said Hersey. "Once we kind of got opened up again, business kept picking up and up. And the last few years have been really pretty good."
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