Small Business Saturday Nickels And Dimes Its Way In Popularity - kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and Killeen

If you're thinking about putting your shopping shoes away, not so fast.

Black Friday is only the beginning of the biggest shopping weekend in the nation, and tomorrow it's time to shine for small businesses.

For the past three years, Shop Local Saturday has been nickel and diming its way to becoming a major shopping event.

They're your neighbors, your friends, and maybe even your family.

They're small business owners, sometimes referred to as the backbone of local economies, and since 2010, Shop Local Saturday has been nudging holiday shoppers their way.

But the shopping event is still in its infancy and has it's growing pains.

"It's decent, I think not a lot of people know about it," says Ben Solis, co-owner of Pro-Image Sports Apparel at the Killeen Mall.

He says the hype around shop local Saturday is going up gradually.

"I think every year, more people come in, they know about Shop Local Saturday," said Ben.

Around the corner at the Truly Texas gift shop, Terri Bowmann is hopeful more people are hearing about it this holiday season.

"I've seen more publicity about it this year than the first couple of years, so I'm hoping it gained a lot more attention," Terri said.

Slowly but surely, it's gaining popularity with shoppers willing spend their Christmas money locally.

Before heading to Ben's checkout line, John Johnston said, "It's nice to do it, because some people are struggling right now with the economy, and they could use some help."

"I like when I can give back to them, plus, sometimes the quality is better," said fellow Christmas shopper Natalie Freeman.

And Ben and Terri hope Small Business Saturday will some day become a holiday tradition in every home.

"This is the third year, so we're hoping it will keep it's momentum," said Terri.

Ben said, "I hope that one day, the Saturday sales will be as good as the Friday sales."

Reporter: Sophia Stamas sstamas@kcentv.com

Photographer: Chris Buford cbuford@kcentv.com