Local Tulsa Shops Thrive On Small Business Saturday

Some Green Country shoppers are ditching the department stores and going local.

It's all part of "Small Business Saturday," the savings day sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and it gives shoppers the chance to cash on savings from some our local stores.

It's a nationwide initiative that started about three years ago, and it's been gaining steam ever since.

Tis the season to shop.

"I won't do anything black Friday… not interested in that," Kansas City resident Susan Folsom said.

Instead, Folsom is shopping Small Business Saturday. It's the local version of Black Friday, only a little more relaxed.

"No stampedes here," Folsom said. "This is safe."

And with two sure perks.

"We want to give you a good deal, but we're not gonna make you wake up before the sunrise to get it," Greenhouse Clothing owner Bryan Schooley said.

Greenhouse Clothing was established a few years back by Schooley and his two brothers.

"You don't have to just go to the big box stores to get the things you need," Schooley said.

His shop is giving customers 50 percent off everything in the store.

But on top of the savings, store owners say shopping local is vital for other reasons.

"Most Americans are employed by a small business," said Amy Adkins, owner of The Gadget Company and Mrs. DeHaven's Flower Shop. "When you're buying from a local retailer, you're supporting not just the city, but the local job economy as well."

The Gadget Company tends "to be kind of branded as a guy's toy store."

Adkins doesn't just sell outdoor gear and one-of-a-kind goods, she's also a member of the Small Business Council.

She says the support for going shopping local is growing by the day.

"We're getting people coming in saying they've specifically come in to shop locally," Adkins said.

Shoppers are scanning the shelves for gifts they can't buy anywhere else.

And it's those unique finds that have buyers picking the small boutiques over the big box stores.

"I was looking for my 80-year-old dad, you know 80-year-olds have everything, so I thought maybe I could find something he didn't have in here," Tulsan Sandy Moore said.

American Express founded Small Business Saturday. The company says more than $100 million people shopped small in their communities last year.