More than 100 million shoppers turned out to support Small Business Saturday, according to numbers released this week. That's significantly more than the 83 million that organizers had expected.
An exhaustive social media effort -- the event's official Facebook page tallied 2.6 million "Likes" and users sent more than 195,000 supportive tweets in November -- propelled the the American Express-sponsored initiative designed to get consumers spending locally the weekend after Thanksgiving.
In its second year, Small Business Saturday awareness among shoppers hit 65%, the figures showed, up nearly 30% from its initial run. That's thanks, in part, to celebrities and other notables (including President Obama) participating in the effort and big corporations lending their support.
But for Small Business Saturday to be more than a blip on the revenue radar, its sentiment has to stay in shoppers' minds throughout the holiday shopping season and into the rest of the year.
While many participating retailers reported an uptick in sales for the event, one day's big sales won't cover the financial strain many small businesses face in a sluggish economy.