Los Angeles, CA — Ninety-Five local Post Offices in the greater Los Angeles area will participate in Small Business Saturday on November 30, 2013, communicating the message to support small businesses by displaying Shop Small banners on the outside of their buildings. Small Business Saturday is a day dedicated to strengthening the community by supporting locally-owned small businesses.
The Postal Service is the official shipper for Small Business Saturday and will provide shipping for Shop Small-branded merchandise ordered on ShopSmall.com. In addition, USPS will promote Small Business Saturday to millions of consumers through direct mail, online at USPS.com and in select Post Offices, including locations in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Pasadena, El Monte, Santa Ana, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Santa Clarita and Thousand Oaks.
Now in its fourth year, Small Business Saturday serves as the ceremonial kickoff to the holiday shopping season for small businesses across the United States. Small Business Saturday supporters reported spending more than $5.5 billion at independently-owned businesses on that day last year.1
The Postal Service recognizes the importance of supporting small businesses, the jobs they help create, and the culture they instill in local communities. According to the U.S. Small Businesses Administration, as of 2012, small businesses nationwide accounted for 64% of net new private-sector jobs created and represented 99.7% of all employer firms.2
“Now more than ever, our priority is helping small business owners become more competitive,” said Los Angeles Postmaster Al Santos. “We have listened to customers and have introduced innovative products with small businesses in mind, like Every Door Direct Mail to target customers.” Shipping is also made easy and convenient with USPS Flat Rate products. “Our improved Priority Mail now offers USPS TrackingTM, day-specific delivery information and $50 of free merchandise insurance,” added Santos.
Small business owners can order a shipping kit at www.prioritymail.com/smallbusiness.
For more information on Small Business Saturday, go to www.shopsmall.com. Customers can visit http://shopsmallnow.americanexpress.com/ to find participating small businesses in the area.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
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1 Based on Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey of nationally representative sample of 800 adults conducted by Redshift Research on behalf of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and American Express (November 2012).
2 Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy Frequently Asked Questions, September 2012.
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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation: 152 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With more than 31,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world's mail. If it were a private-sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 42nd in the 2012 Fortune 500. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for seven years and the fourth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.
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