Small businesses have faced uncertainty this year in operating their businesses due to the tariff situation with the United States and consumers cutting back on spending.

That means this holiday shopping season will be crucial to businesses and whether they close out the year in the black or in the red.

Ryan Mallough, Vice President of Legislative Affairs for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business shares how shoppers can help.

“We all know about Black Friday and Cyber Monday but what we want people to focus on is Small Business Saturday right in between the two. That is the day where we encourage business owners across the country to kick off that holiday shopping season, promote some discounts and have people in the store but we really encourage consumers to shop local.”

Mallough added that 66 cents of every dollar spent locally stays in our community.

In comparison, only 9 cents from the online stores such as Amazon stay local.

Learn more about Small Business Saturday. Tune in to Thompson Today this afternoon at 12:40 and 5:10.