Many big retailers see a spike in sales during Thanksgiving weekend, which can create difficulties for smaller businesses that compete with large-scale corporations.

In 2018,Black Friday brought in $3.7 billion with a record-breaking $7.9 billion The same year for cyber Monday according to Adobe Analytics. This year shoppers spent  $7.4 billion for Black Friday, according to Adobe’s data.

Mohammed Islam, owner of Pullman’s PNW Halal Meats, said he feels the effect on his store when customers choose to go to large chains for their halal products, such as Walmart or Costco.

He said he believes consumers should choose to support small businesses because Halal specialty stores carry a “wide variety of tasty foods that big grocery outlets don’t.”

Isobel Baetz, WSU sophomore electrical engineering major, said she enjoys shopping locally, due to a better quality of products that smaller stores carry.

“The owners of small businesses care about the community more than large for-profit retailers,” Baetz said.

However, thanks to Small Business Saturday, which is a shopping tradition local shop owners participate in, they are seeing an influx of customers supporting local businesses. Small Business Saturday always falls between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Keely Garrity, owner of Ampersand Oil & Vinegar Tap House in Moscow, said the sales brought in during Small Business Saturday are encouraging, due to an increase in sales from previous years.

She said she considers this year’s Small Business Saturday to be a success.

“The whole weekend was better than the previous year,” Garrity said.