VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Independent We Stand is proud to support Small Business Saturday, a day dedicated to celebrating locally owned small businesses across the country. Each year, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, consumers make a positive impact on the community by supporting businesses in their neighborhoods. Small Business Saturday, which falls on Nov. 26 this year, serves as the ceremonial kickoff to the holiday shopping season for small businesses across the United States.

For 2016, Independent We Stand is making it even easier to shop small through our recently upgraded Buy Local app and giving shoppers a little more incentive to get involved through a Shop Small Selfie contest. The app helps socially conscious consumers to shop, eat, stay and play locally. The selfie contest gives those businesses a little free promotion and qualifies shoppers for one of five $100 American Express Gift Cards.

The idea is for customers to get creative, take a selfie in front of their favorite local store and share it on the Independent We Stand Facebook page using the hashtag #ShopSmallSelfie. The contest runs Nov. 4-Dec. 22 with one winner announced each week beginning Nov. 23.

The Independent We Stand Buy Local app is fine-tuned to enhance the user experience by helping them to find unique, locally owned shops, provide helpful reviews and uncover hidden gems while traveling. It filters out big box stores and draws from a database of Independent We Stand members along with locally owned Google My Business listings nationwide.

The free Buy Local app is available for both Android and Apple Devices.

“Each year, Independent We Stand reaches out to both consumers and small business owners to help make the buy local experience convenient and easy,” says Bill Brunelle, co-founder of Independent We Stand. “Our goal is for small business to win big this holiday shopping season but, it can’t happen without community support during the holidays and year-round.”

Independent We Stand recognizes the importance of supporting small businesses, the jobs they help create, and the culture they instill in local communities. As of 2014, small businesses nationwide accounted for 63% of net new private-sector jobs created and represented 99.7 percent of firms with paid employees, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Merchants and consumers can learn more about Small Business Saturday and how to get involved by visiting ShopSmall.com or IndependentWeStand.org.

About Independent We Stand

Independent We Stand is a movement of independent business owners across the country dedicated to informing their communities about the importance of “Buying Local” and how these efforts bolster their local economy. This movement supports all local and national causes committed to boosting local economic development projects. The Independent We Stand movement is co-sponsored by STIHL Inc. and FCA US LLC.

About Small Business Saturday

November 26 marks the seventh annual Small Business Saturday, a day to support the small businesses that can create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country. Small Business Saturday was created by American Express in 2010 in response to small business owners’ most pressing need: more customers.