Small Business Saturday 2026: the date and how a small shop takes part

When is Small Business Saturday 2026?

Small Business Saturday 2026 is Saturday, November 28, 2026. The day always falls on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving 2026 is Thursday, November 26, so it sits between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. American Express describes it as a day dedicated to supporting small businesses and communities across the country.

American Express created the day in the midst of the recession in 2010, to bring more holiday shopping to small businesses. A shop takes part by running a sale or opening a market stall that weekend. The parts with rules are the ones Amex runs: the Shop Small Map and the Shop Small name and artwork.

What Shop Small and American Express give a small business

Small Business Saturday is one part of the larger Shop Small Movement, which Amex says has grown into a year-round movement that supports small businesses. None of the tools below takes orders for you: sales still happen on your own site, in your shop or at your stall.

• Marketing materials: free marketing assets, with social posts, stories and printables. Amex says you do not need to be a Card Member or accept American Express Cards to get the free downloadable marketing materials.
• Signs: free signs and supplies for a storefront, or digital assets for a website. Printable posters come as an 8.5 X 11 PDF.
• The Shop Small Map: it shows only U.S. businesses that meet certain Shop Small eligibility criteria.
• The Online Directory: it lists qualifying businesses that only accept online transactions or have no physical location.

Shop Small Map rules: which businesses get listed

The Shop Small marketing guide says that keeping your map details current means Amex can recommend your business to Card Members for free. The table lists the main rules as Amex's map FAQ states them. Amex's Shop Small FAQ page lists 2025 criteria with some different limits, such as up to $5MM in full year Amex Charge Volume, so check both pages if your business is near a limit.

Even a qualifying business is not promised a spot in results: Amex cannot guarantee a business will appear in a search, and each search returns only 100 merchants. Treat the map as a small extra and plan the day so it works without it.

How to add your business to the Shop Small Map

These steps are for a business that already accepts American Express Cards and meets the rules above. Amex says that only the merchant or an American Express representative the merchant authorizes can add the listing.

1. Sign in to your Amex merchant account

   You need your Merchant ID or Access Code from Amex Communications, or your User ID and password. If you do not have an account yet, Amex directs you to create one.

2. Open the map listing

   From the dashboard, click the Shop Small® Map Listing link, then click your business location on the map.

3. Turn the listing on

   Make sure the Show on Shop Small® Map toggle is selected.

4. Update your public details

   Click the edit icon on the right side of the page to update your location's public details, and save each part after you change it. For an online-only shop, Amex says to update your URL and, in the Servicing section, select "Card Members cannot visit location".

5. Do it well before the day

   Updates are not instant. Amex says it may take 2-3 business days to verify a change, so make edits in early November, not on the Friday before.

How an online shop or maker takes part without a storefront

An online shop or a maker who sells at markets can take part without a storefront, but where you sell changes what Amex's programs can do for you. The marketing materials terms ask for at least one physical (or online) business location in the United States or its territories, so an online shop can use the files. On the map side, online-only businesses must have a service area in the US or its listed territories, and qualifying ones appear in the Online Directory described above. A seller who takes card payments only through a marketplace or a card-reader app may not qualify under the map rules above. If that is you, build the day around your own channels: your email list, your social accounts and any market you attend that weekend.

• Own online store: run the offer on your site and announce it to your email list and followers.
• Marketplace shop: use the marketplace's own sale tools if it has them, and point your followers to your shop.
• Markets and pop-ups: if a local market runs that weekend, book a table early and bring printed signs.
• Home address: if you order a Shop Small Kit when Amex offers one, note that Shop Small Kits are not mailed to P.O. Boxes or APOs.

Small Business Saturday marketing materials and the rules for using them

The Shop Small Resource Hub has free marketing assets, with social posts, stories and printables. Social posts come at 1080x1080px and stories at 1080 x 1920px, and the marketing guide says recommended captions are included. Amex offers social media assets for seasons, holidays and sales moments, all year, so check the hub again in November.

The files come with rules, because Shop Small® is a registered trademark of American Express. The marketing guide says to use the assets exactly as provided and change them only where Amex explicitly permits, and not to pair Shop Small with discounts, contests, sweepstakes or offers. Where Amex does allow edits, the terms of use limit what you add: no superlatives such as best, first, fastest or cheapest, and no sweepstakes, meaning a giveaway where random chance decides who wins.

Amex says that by downloading the materials, you agree to the Shop Small Marketing Materials for Merchants Terms of Use. Those terms limit who can use the files: at least 1 but not more than 25 business locations, and the excluded types include direct sellers, travel agents and political organizations.

1. Post the Shop Small files as they are, with your own caption and #ShopSmall, to say you are a small business taking part.
2. Announce your own sale or offer in separate posts with your own photos, since the guide says not to pair Shop Small with offers.
3. Add the Shop Small banner where the guide suggests it: for emails to your customers, newsletters and blog updates.
4. Print a poster for your stall or window, or order the free signs.

How to plan a Small Business Saturday sale

This plan uses one clear offer, enough stock to meet it and a plan for telling people. Example: a ceramics maker with 40 mugs in stock, selling on her own site and at one local market.

1. Pick one offer

   Choose a single, simple offer: a bundle at a set price, a small gift with larger orders, or a limited batch made for the day. In the example, the maker offers a two-mug gift set for that Saturday only. One offer is easier to announce than a sitewide discount.

2. Check your stock and costs

   Count what you can sell and what each sale costs after materials, packing, shipping and payment fees, so the offer still leaves a margin. If stock is limited, say so in the announcement.

3. Set the dates and cutoffs

   Decide when the offer starts and ends, and the last order date for delivery before the holidays, and put both on your site. In the example, the gift set runs through the weekend and closes before Cyber Monday.

4. Tell people early

   Email your list and post in the week before, then again on the day. Past buyers already know your work, so write to them first. Keep the offer in your own posts and the Shop Small files in separate ones.

5. Follow up after the day

   Thank buyers, note what sold out and what did not, and invite new buyers to join your email list.

Small Business Saturday and small business Black Friday

On Black Friday and Cyber Monday a small shop's offer sits next to the discounts of large retailers, and matching them on price can wipe out a small seller's margin. Small Business Saturday is the day of that weekend set aside for small businesses.

A buyer who sets out to shop small may be looking for something handmade, local or hard to find, so a limited batch, a gift set or free gift wrapping can fit better than a deep discount. If you also run a small business Black Friday sale, keep it short and separate, and save your main message for Saturday.

Where Nation fits

Questions about Small Business Saturday