CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With the Saturday after Thanksgiving marking the ceremonial kickoff to the holiday shopping season for small businesses across the United States, Groupon asked 2,000 people about their holiday shopping preferences and found that 67 percent of Americans favor shopping at small businesses over large national chains. According to the survey results, the top reasons why shoppers prefer to shop at local merchants include their unique gift selection, the money spent there stays in the community, they offer a more personalized shopping experience, have higher quality items and provide better customer service.
The survey, conducted by market researchers OnePoll and commissioned by Groupon, also asked participants for some of the biggest barriers when they shop small businesses. Some of the top impediments to shopping small during the holiday season were not enough inventory, pricing compared to large chains, proximity to consumers, not open during convenient hours and no mobile app or website. All are addressable on Groupon.
“We’re thrilled that so many people see the benefits of shopping locally this holiday season,” said Jennifer Carr-Smith, senior vice president of North American Local, Groupon. “Our marketplace is convenient, always-on and helps shoppers connect with the amazing small businesses in their neighborhood, building great local spaces in the process.”
Groupon has pumped more than $18 billion into local communities and recently unveiled a new advertising campaign (community.groupon.com) featuring the stories of merchants whose businesses and communities have seen incredible successes through the Groupon platform.
Building great communities is one of Groupon’s core values, and the company is committed to continuing to promote initiatives that help foster economic development and growth of small businesses. Eighty-five percent of Groupon’s U.S. merchant population have 20 or fewer employees and nearly one-third are sole proprietors.
Some of Groupon’s recent community-building campaigns have included establishing a small business recovery fund for businesses that were damaged or destroyed by the recent hurricanes, running discover downtown campaigns––curated deal collections that highlight and support the unique character of neighborhoods –– and working with local incubators to help entrepreneurs receive the financial support and services they need to start, invest in and grow their businesses.
For more information about Groupon’s community-building initiatives, please visit community.groupon.com.
"Groupon" is a registered trademark of Groupon, Inc. All other names used may be trademarks owned by their respective holders.
About Groupon
Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) is building the daily habit in local commerce, offering a vast mobile and online marketplace where people discover and save on amazing things to do, see, eat and buy. By enabling real-time commerce across local businesses, travel destinations, consumer products and live events, shoppers can find the best a city has to offer.
Groupon is redefining how small businesses attract and retain customers by providing them with customizable and scalable marketing tools and services to profitably grow their businesses.
To download Groupon's top-rated mobile apps, visit www.groupon.com/mobile. To search for great deals or subscribe to Groupon emails, visit www.groupon.com. To learn more about the company’s merchant solutions and how to work with Groupon, visit www.groupon.com/merchant.
Groupon holiday TV spots can be found via the Groupon YouTube channel.
