Small Business Saturday 2026 is November 28. The Small Business Saturday marketing ideas that pay off most start with local search: set Google Business Profile special hours for the holiday weekend, publish an Offer post with dates, opt in to the American Express Shop Small Map if you qualify, and ask recent customers for reviews before the rush.
Most Small Business Saturday guides jump straight to discounts and hashtags. Those help once people know you exist, but holiday shoppers start by searching, and a listing with the wrong hours or no offer loses them at the first step. Here is the listing work to finish in the next six weeks, in the order that makes it easy, followed by the promotion ideas that build on it.
Small Business Saturday 2026 falls on November 28
The SBA confirms the date: Small Business Saturday is Saturday, November 28, 2026, two days after Thanksgiving. American Express founded the day in 2010, and the SBA has cosponsored it since 2011 (U.S. Small Business Administration). The SBA counts more than 36.2 million independent businesses in the country, which tells you how crowded the search results get that week.
The stakes are real for owners. In the 2025 Shop Small Impact Study, which Teneo conducted for American Express, 86 percent of consumers said they were likely to shop small during the holiday season, and small business owners said they expected nearly 20 percent of their annual revenue to come from Small Business Saturday alone (American Express via Business Wire). That is a sponsor's survey, so treat the figures as directional. Restaurants and service businesses count too, and our restaurant marketing team plans this weekend with operators every year.
Set Google Business Profile holiday hours for the weekend
Wrong hours hurt most on a holiday weekend, when shoppers check before they drive. Google Business Profile lets you set special hours for temporary changes or closures of up to six days in a row, and Google recommends confirming your hours for official holidays "even if they're the same as your regular hours" (Google Business Profile Help). Set Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and the Sunday now, so a late change becomes an edit to existing entries.
One setting trips people up. Special hours only show if your profile is set to "Open with main hours." Then copy the same hours to Apple Maps and Bing so every assistant gives the same answer. Our guides to claiming your Apple Maps listing and Bing Places for Business cover where those settings live.
A Google Business Profile Offer post for Small Business Saturday
An Offer post puts your Small Business Saturday promotion on the profile itself. Google requires a title, dates and a time for an offer, adds a "View Offer" button automatically, and lets you attach a coupon code, link and terms. You can also schedule the post in advance (Google Business Profile Help). Publish it a week before, and make the dates cover the full weekend.
Leave phone numbers out of the post text. Google's help page says posts that include a phone number in the description might be rejected if the number cannot be verified as connected to the business, and Search Engine Roundtable reported in September that Google may remove posts with unverified phone numbers, email addresses or social handles (Search Engine Roundtable). If you run Google Ads with location assets, check the promotion on your website as well. According to a Google email reported by Search Engine Roundtable, from October 12 Google Ads may pull promotions from advertisers' websites into Search and Performance Max campaigns that have location assets and no promotion assets, unless the setting is turned off (Search Engine Roundtable). Our local SEO strategy guide covers posts as part of a year-round routine.
Join the Shop Small Map before the Small Business Saturday rush
The American Express Shop Small Map is a free listing many owners never claim. To qualify, a business needs between 1 and 25 brick-and-mortar locations and no more than $7 million in annual American Express charge volume, and it cannot belong to a franchise brand with more than 100 stores (American Express). Third-party guides can lag behind these limits, so check Amex's own FAQ.
Eligible businesses may not appear automatically. Amex says a merchant "may have to manually opt-in" using the "Show on Shop Small Map" toggle, and verifying a change can take up to two to three business days (American Express). Amex reports that in 2025 it recommended more than 6 million businesses to 19.5 million Card Members across Amex-funded marketing, which it says drove $14 million in new spend, based on its internal data (American Express). Opt in by mid-November to leave room for fixes.
Fresh reviews help local businesses win holiday searches
Recent reviews carry more weight than old ones. In BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey, 97 percent of consumers said they read reviews for local businesses and 74 percent look for reviews written in the last three months (BrightLocal, vendor survey). A five-star average from 2024 reads as stale to a holiday shopper comparing three nearby stores.
Ask October and November customers for reviews with a short link, and reply to every new one so the profile looks active. Our plain-English guide to Google reviews covers how to ask without breaking Google's rules. Check the profile's details while you are there: Google now gives owners four days to reject suggested edits, and we explain that change in our post on Google Business Profile suggested edits.
Small Business Saturday marketing ideas that build on the listing
With the listings right, the promotions have somewhere to send people. The SBA links to free Small Business Saturday marketing materials, including sample posters and social media resources, and American Express offers ready-to-use social posts and free Shop Small signage (SBA; American Express). Use them, and add a reason to visit that only you can offer: a tasting, a workshop, a neighborhood collaboration or a limited item.
Holiday Saturdays draw crowds. NRF's survey estimated 62.7 million in-store shoppers on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend in 2025 (NRF). Post the plan on Instagram and Facebook in the week before, and pin it on the day. Our restaurant social media playbook has posting rhythms that carry over to retail. If you want help getting the listings and promotions ready in time, talk to Andy's team.
