Local shopping statistics at a glance
Local shopping is not a niche habit anymore. The latest figures in this dataset show a broad mix of holiday intent, small-business support, social discovery, and retail spending patterns that all point in the same direction: people still buy local when they see value, community impact, and convenience.
Key takeaways
- 86% of consumers say they are likely to Shop Small this holiday season, either in person or online (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- 89% of Millennials and Gen Z say they are likely to Shop Small this holiday season (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- 95% of small business owners say community support is what keeps them thriving (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- 98% of small business owners now market their business through social channels, and 99% of those owners say that social-channel marketing has positively impacted revenue over the past year (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- Estimated spending at local merchants on Small Business Saturday reached about $22 billion in 2024 (American Express 2024 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey).
Table of contents
- What local shopping statistics say about consumer intent
- Community support and the small-business effect
- Social media and local discovery
- Holiday shopping and Small Business Saturday
- Retail benchmarks that frame local shopping
- What the numbers suggest for local merchants
What local shopping statistics say about consumer intent
Local shopping statistics start with a simple idea: shoppers do not treat small and local businesses as an afterthought. They still see them as part of normal buying behavior, especially when the purchase feels meaningful, distinctive, or community-minded.
A useful way to read this dataset is to separate broad consumer intent from holiday-specific behavior. The broad intent numbers are strong.
- 76% of consumers agree that small businesses are essential to their community (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- 73% of consumers say showing small businesses support unites their community (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- 70% of consumers feel they are getting to know the community better and playing a role in its success when they Shop Small (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
These are not just goodwill sentiments. They describe the emotional and social framework behind local shopping. Consumers are not only comparing prices; they are also deciding whether a purchase fits their view of community identity.
Fast facts on shopper intent
- 93% of consumers plan to shop small to some degree this season (American Express 2024 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey).
- 86% of consumers say they are likely to Shop Small this holiday season, either in person or online (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- 89% of Millennials and Gen Z say they are likely to Shop Small this holiday season (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- 64% of consumers said they Shop Small because they know a portion of their purchase directly impacts the community (American Express Survey About the Holiday Shopping Season).
That last figure matters because it moves local shopping from abstract support into a direct economic decision. Shoppers are not just saying they like small businesses; many believe their spending has a visible effect.
Community support and the small-business effect
Local shopping statistics consistently show that community support is both a perception and a business reality. Small business owners report that support from neighbors, customers, and local networks is central to survival and growth.
Why it matters
The small-business side of the dataset is unusually strong:
- 95% of small business owners say community support is what keeps them thriving (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- 93% of small business owners say they can count on people in their community for support (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- 86% of small business owners report that the level of community support for their business has increased year over year (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
Taken together, those numbers describe a feedback loop. When shoppers believe local businesses matter, they support them. When businesses feel supported, they invest more in their communities, which can make local commerce more visible and durable.
Small business owner outlook
Holiday expectations in the dataset are also positive:
- 95% of small business owners had a positive outlook for their holiday sales in 2024 (American Express Survey About the Holiday Shopping Season).
- 87% of small business owners predicted their holiday sales would be stronger than last year in 2024 (American Express Survey About the Holiday Shopping Season).
- Small business owners estimate that nearly 20% of their annual revenue will come from this year’s Small Business Saturday sales (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
That last point is a strong reminder that local shopping is not symbolic. For many owners, holiday traffic is a meaningful share of the year’s revenue mix.
Social media and local discovery
The data makes one thing clear: local shopping is increasingly discovered through social channels rather than only through foot traffic or word of mouth.
Social discovery highlights
- 98% of small business owners now market their business through social channels (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- 99% of those owners say social-channel marketing has positively impacted revenue over the past year (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- 82% of small businesses that market on social media have seen a spike in sales when content creators or influencers post about them (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- 81% of small business owners say engaging with content creators and influencers helped grow their customer base and drive sales (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- 81% of Millennials and Gen Z discovered a new small, independently owned business or restaurant through social media in the past year (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
That is a notable pattern: social media is not just an awareness channel, it is a discovery and conversion channel for local merchants.
Word-of-mouth, now distributed
The dataset also shows how local recommendations travel online:
- 75% of consumers say recommendations from others in their community on social media influence their decision to shop at a small business or restaurant (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- 71% of Millennials and Gen Z say seeing a content creator or influencer post about a small business on social media is influential (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
For local merchants, this means community reputation now has a digital surface area. A business can win local loyalty in person and then amplify it through shares, posts, and creator mentions.
Holiday shopping and Small Business Saturday
Holiday timing is where many local shopping statistics become easiest to interpret because the season concentrates consumer intent into a short window.
Table: holiday and Small Business Saturday signals
| Metric | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Consumers likely to Shop Small this holiday season | 86% | 2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results |
| Millennials and Gen Z likely to Shop Small | 89% | 2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results |
| Consumers planning to shop small to some degree | 93% | American Express 2024 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey |
| Consumers planning to shop at small businesses that need support | 61% | American Express Survey About the Holiday Shopping Season |
| Gen Z and Millennials planning to shop at small businesses that need support | 68% | American Express Survey About the Holiday Shopping Season |
| Estimated spending at local merchants on Small Business Saturday in 2024 | $22 billion | American Express 2024 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey |
| Estimated consumer spending at small businesses on Small Business Saturday since the event began | $201 billion | American Express Survey About the Holiday Shopping Season |
This table shows two related but different dimensions: intention and realized spending. High intent is important, but the spending totals show that small-business shopping is already a very large commercial event.
Holiday buying behavior by generation
Generational data in the dataset leans toward younger consumers:
- 88% of Millennials and Gen Z said they were planning to Shop Small for the holidays in 2024 (American Express Survey About the Holiday Shopping Season).
- 52% of Gen Z and Millennials said they planned to spend more on Small Business Saturday in 2024 than in 2023 (American Express Survey About the Holiday Shopping Season).
- By comparison, 26% of Gen X and Boomers said they planned to spend more on Small Business Saturday in 2024 than in 2023 (American Express Survey About the Holiday Shopping Season).
That spread suggests younger shoppers are more likely to increase their spending specifically for the local-shopping moment, while older groups remain engaged but less expansionary.
The seasonal price question
Local shopping does not happen in a vacuum. Price remains a major filter:
- 63% of U.S. shoppers say they are prioritizing price this season (PYMNTS Shop Small Holiday Tracker December 2024).
- 63% of U.S. shoppers say a unique product or service would sway them to buy from a small business (PYMNTS Shop Small Holiday Tracker December 2024).
These two stats belong together. They show that local merchants are not competing only on values; they can still win on differentiated offers.
Retail benchmarks that frame local shopping
The dataset also includes broader retail benchmarks that help explain where local shopping fits inside the wider U.S. retail environment.
Big number
- U.S. retail sales (NAICS 44-45) reached $7,041.0 billion in 2022 (U.S. Census Bureau Annual Retail Trade Survey).
- U.S. retail sales increased 8.0% from $6,519.8 billion in 2021 to $7,041.0 billion in 2022 (U.S. Census Bureau Annual Retail Trade Survey).
Those totals are not local-shopping totals, but they frame the scale of the retail market that local businesses must navigate.
Comparable category figures
| Retail category | 2022 sales | Year-over-year change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery store sales | $858.3 billion | +8.2% from 2021 | U.S. Census Bureau Annual Retail Trade Survey |
| Gasoline station sales | $736.1 billion | +28.5% from 2021 | U.S. Census Bureau Annual Retail Trade Survey |
| Electronic shopping and mail-order house sales | $1,117.0 billion | +9.5% from 2021 | U.S. Census Bureau Annual Retail Trade Survey |
This comparison is helpful because it shows how large digitally enabled commerce is relative to physical retail categories. Local stores are competing in a retail environment where convenience, price, and delivery expectations are extremely high.
Census coverage and context
The retail data itself is built from substantial survey coverage:
- The Census Bureau’s Annual Retail Trade Survey includes 16,500 employer businesses that sell directly to consumers (U.S. Census Bureau Annual Retail Trade Survey).
- The Census Bureau’s Monthly Retail Trade Survey samples about 12,500 retail businesses with paid employees (U.S. Census Bureau Monthly Retail Trade Survey).
That scale matters because local shopping is not a tiny statistical niche. It sits inside a large national system that is measured regularly and at multiple levels.
What the numbers suggest for local merchants
The numbers in this dataset point to several practical realities for anyone selling locally.
1. Community is part of the product
If 95% of small business owners say community support keeps them thriving, then local shopping is not just a transaction channel. It is part of the value proposition itself (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
2. Social visibility is now essential
With 98% of owners using social channels and 99% of those owners reporting positive revenue impact, social presence is no longer optional for local merchants (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results). For discovery, it matters as much as location.
3. Younger shoppers are a strong growth lever
Millennials and Gen Z show higher holiday shopping intent and stronger willingness to increase Small Business Saturday spending than older generations in this dataset (American Express Survey About the Holiday Shopping Season). That makes them a key audience for local merchants trying to expand repeat traffic and seasonal spikes.
4. Differentiation still beats pure price competition
If 63% of U.S. shoppers prioritize price, then local merchants need a reason to be chosen beyond good intentions alone (PYMNTS Shop Small Holiday Tracker December 2024). The same dataset shows a 63% response for unique products or services swaying purchase decisions, which means differentiation can offset price pressure.
5. Small shopping can carry macro-scale revenue weight
The estimated $22 billion in local-merchant spending on Small Business Saturday in 2024 and the estimated $201 billion spent since the event began show that local shopping is a material part of the retail calendar, not a symbolic side story (American Express 2024 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey; American Express Survey About the Holiday Shopping Season).
Quick reference stats
- 86% of consumers are likely to Shop Small this holiday season (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- 93% of consumers plan to shop small to some degree this season (American Express 2024 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey).
- 98% of small business owners market through social channels (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).
- $22 billion was estimated to be spent at local merchants on Small Business Saturday in 2024 (American Express 2024 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey).
- $7,041.0 billion in U.S. retail sales was recorded in 2022 (U.S. Census Bureau Annual Retail Trade Survey).
- 81% of Millennials and Gen Z discovered a new independently owned business or restaurant through social media in the past year (2025 American Express Shop Small Impact Study Results).