American Express’ latest Shop Small campaign urges shoppers to do their Christmas shopping with small businesses this year to help accelerate their recovery. If each person purchased a $100 gift at a small business, it would deliver an additional $2 billion boost to the sector. This rally for support comes as Gill Minervini, the newly appointed festival director of Sydney’s most iconic light extravaganza, Vivid, creates spectacular festive window displays in three small businesses, bringing joy to local communities and much-needed foot traffic into stores.

To support the campaign, new research by American Express shows the potential opportunity to help reinvigorate the small business sector is even greater. The data shows that shoppers are intending to dig deep this Christmas to potentially spend, on average, $220 per gift for loved ones. If this happened, and just one of these gifts was purchased at small businesses, a potential $4.4 billion would make its way to the sector.

In a sign of just how critical the festive trading period will be for small business operators, the research shows it will be make-or-break for nearly one third (30%) of Australian small businesses. These operators say that without strong sales they won’t survive. Another 38% say that weak sales will force their hand at having to make serious changes to their business.

Lisa Belcher, Vice President of Small Merchants for American Express says, “Our research shows that almost one third (31%) of Australian owned and operated small businesses say that this year’s Covid crisis has been the hardest period their business has ever endured. Compared to last year, average sales are down 35% and operators are pulling out all the stops to make this Christmas successful. We launched Shop Small in Australia in 2013 and this annual call for support for small businesses has never been more important.”

“For this year’s campaign, we were inspired by the spectacular window displays traditionally seen in larger retailers around the world. On a slightly smaller scale, we are delivering the same level of delight and magic to local communities but most importantly bringing customers, ready to spend, through the doors of small businesses.”