By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
Staff Writer
OXFORD – The Oxford Downtown Development Authority is encouraging patrons to shop small this holiday season.
On Nov. 25, at 9 a.m., retail businesses in downtown Oxford will open for Small Business Saturday, and the Oxford DDA will be giving away free gifts.
“We are going to set up in Washington Square, and we’re partnering with Sullivan’s to give out mimosas to the first 100 people,” said Kelly Westbrook, Oxford DDA director. “Those people also get a shopping bag and a shopping passport.”
For those 100 patrons, there is also the chance to win a $100 DDA gift card or one of four $250 gift cards to RevivifyU Med Spa.
“The shopping passports are for if they spend $150 total,” said Westbrook. “Then they can bring in their receipt and passport at the DDA office and we’ll give them a $25 gift card to a downtown business.”
Small Business Saturday was created by American Express in 2010 as a way to help revive the economy following the recession in 2008, and to help small businesses across the nation.
“Obviously, just the support of small businesses is so important,” she said. “This is really what makes up our community, they are the ones who sponsor our events and they’re our community members. It is so easy to just click a button and order off of Amazon that it really shows them we care when we come in and support their small business.”
And if you can’t shop in-person on the 25th, the DDA businesses are online at shopocmainstreets.com.
“This year, we do have Shop OC, which is our downtown platform where people can shop online,” she said. “Or they can purchase a downtown gift card on our website and spend it at a later date. There’s so many ways to support small businesses.”