I’m backing small businesses this Black Friday and 71% of consumers are joining me

Woman placing a customer order in a shop
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Black Friday is the biggest shopping event of the year, with practically every behemoth retail business running huge campaigns and offering sizable discounts over the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend.

For small businesses, often already operating on smaller profit margins, it can be hard to compete. Yet, according to a new study by GoDaddy, one of the best website builders, small businesses are likely to see an increase in sales this holiday shopping reason.

The study found that 71% of respondents said that they were willing to pay more when buying from small businesses during the Black Friday sales and throughout the holiday season. In fact, an impressive 53% of respondents said that they would be willing to spend 10% more to support small businesses over larger retailers.

Supporting small businesses during Black Friday

Although I will certainly be making some purchases from large retailers this Black Friday, I will also be looking for ways to support small and local businesses wherever possible. The GoDaddy study found that, like me, the largest proportion of respondents (30%) noted that wanting to support the local economy was the biggest reason for shopping with local businesses.

But this isn’t the only reason to go small. 18% of respondents claimed that by buying from small businesses they expected to receive better customer service and a further 13% highlighted that they bought from small businesses because they liked handmade or unique products. Around two-thirds of respondents also mentioned that they intend on treating themselves over the holiday season.

Of course, recent economic trends may impact small business success during Black Friday. 65% of respondents agreed that inflation will have an impact on their shopping habits this season.

For me, this means being smarter with my spending this year. I’ve already done my research on what I want to buy as gifts, with a mix of products from large retailers and small businesses. I’ll be checking what deals I can get on those products as we run up to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.

About the study

The study by GoDaddy compared two surveys in which consumers from the US were asked about their holiday shopping habits. One survey was conducted in October 2024 going to a total of 1,247 respondents and the other in September 2024 going to 1,520 respondents.

This latest study marks GoDaddy’s commitment to supporting small businesses and helps position them further as one of the best small business website builders on the market.

TOPICS
Owain Williams
B2B Editor, Website Builders & CRM

Owain has been building websites and online stores for his own and his client's businesses for over 8 years. Having taken on a role at TechRadar Pro in 2023, he now leads on all website builder and CRM content, spending his days researching, testing, and reviewing some of the best website building and CRM platforms on the market. He also has a passion for helping people get a great deal on website builders, delivering the best coupon and promo codes on the market. With an extensive background in business, Owain holds a BA(Hons) in Business and Marketing and has written for several leading publications including MarketingProfs, Website Builder Expert, Digital Doughnut, and NealSchaffer.com.

Read more
A business woman looking at AI on a transparent screen
Entrepreneurs reveal the biggest challenges they faced when launching an online business
A person using a smartphone with an ecommerce website showing on a laptop.
Tech deals in 2025: navigating ‘ghost’ discounts and fake reviews
header image for best small business website builder page inclufing shopify wix and weebly logo on yellow background
I’ve tested and reviewed 7 of the best small business website builders in 2025
Shopping woman legs
Ecommerce firms are pushing for major technology investments
Shopify vs BigCommerce: Which is better?
Shopify vs BigCommerce: Which ecommerce platform is the best?
The logo of Squarespace, an American website design and web hosting company, is visible on a laptop screen in New York
New year, new business? Save on your website with Squarespace
Latest in Website Building
Wix automation
The world's leading website builder aims to save businesses time with new tool
Squarespace
Build a website for less with 10% off Squarespace subscriptions
Squarespace
Fresh season, fresh start— launch your dream website with Squarespace with this offer
Wix Printful
Wix teams up with Printful for in-house print-on-demand tools
Squarespace
Don't miss out on this great Squarespace deal
Hostinger Website Builder vs WordPress.com: Which is better?
Hostinger Website Builder vs WordPress.com: Battle of the WordPress website builders
Latest in Features
Google AI Mode
I tried Google's new AI mode powered by Gemini, and it might be the end of Search as we know it
Saily eSIM by Nord Security
"Much more than just an eSIM service" - I spoke to the CEO of Saily about the future of travel and its impact on secure eSIM technology
A collage image showing images from the TV shows The White Lotus on Max, Black Mirror on Netflix and The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu.
I'm pausing my Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Paramount+ subscriptions in April 2025 – here are the 3 streaming services I'm keeping instead
Gemini on a smartphone.
Gemini is pulling ahead of ChatGPT – combining Deep Research with Audio Overviews is one of the best uses of AI I’ve seen so far
The Rookie
The Rookie is Hulu's #1 show – here are 3 police procedural dramas with over 80% on Rotten Tomatoes to watch next
Grok Image Edits
I tried Grok’s new AI image editing features – they’re fun but won’t replace Photoshop any time soon