Small Business Saturday lands on November 28 this year, three weeks out as I write this. It’s the one day every fall built for a shop like yours instead of a big chain. The direct answer on getting ready: pick one clear thing you’re doing that day, a sale, a bundle, a free gift with a purchase, or just staying open later, and start telling people now. Staffing, gift cards and signage are all easier to sort out once that one decision is made.
What Small Business Saturday Actually Is
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the national group that represents small business owners, runs Small Business Saturday in partnership with American Express every year on the Saturday after the American Thanksgiving weekend. That puts it on November 28 in 2026, right in the middle of the bigger Black Friday to Cyber Monday stretch. CFIB publishes a free toolkit each fall with posters, social media templates and a week-by-week checklist, and none of it needs you to sign up for anything paid.
Why Shoppers Need More Convincing This Year
Nobody walks through your door automatically just because a date exists on a calendar. Last fall, a CFIB survey of small business owners found 20 percent expected their holiday sales to land lower than the year before, and 52 percent expected sales to come in about flat. Only a third said they were counting on the season to carry their year’s numbers.
The same survey makes the case for shopping local in plain dollars: CFIB says 66 cents of every dollar spent at a local business stays in that community, against a much smaller share when the same dollar goes to a chain or an overseas website. Worth saying out loud to your own customers, not just believing it yourself.
Steps to Actually Get Ready Before November 28
- Pick the one offer you’re running. A straight percentage off, a bundle, a free gift over a set spend, or simply longer hours. One clear offer beats three vague ones nobody remembers.
- Set your staffing for the day. If the floor is already short-handed on a normal Saturday, it will feel tighter once extra shoppers show up, not looser. My post on hiring seasonal staff for the holidays covers how to bring someone on properly if you’re short.
- Tell your regulars directly, by text, email or a sign at the counter, starting now rather than the morning of.
- Post about the offer on whichever account you actually keep up, this week and again the few days before.
- If a gift card is part of your plan, get the rules straight before you print or activate a single one. More on that below.
- Ask a neighbouring shop if they’ll cross-promote with you. The Downtown Halifax Business Commission and the Spring Garden Area Business Association, the two groups that promote those shopping districts, run a joint holiday gift guide every year, though this year’s booking window closed back on October 9. Worth a note in next September’s calendar instead of waiting for the week of.
- Walk through the day itself the morning before: the right person scheduled, shelves stocked, signage up, and a way to grab a new customer’s email or number before they leave.
Can You Put an Expiry Date on a Gift Card in Nova Scotia?
No, not on an ordinary one you sell to a customer. Nova Scotia’s gift card regulation under the Consumer Protection Act, the provincial law covering how a business has to treat its customers, says a supplier can’t issue or sell a gift card with an expiry date. If one somehow carries a date anyway, the card still works as if that date was never printed on it. You also can’t sell a card for less value than the customer paid, or charge a fee on it, outside a couple of narrow exceptions, like replacing a lost card.
The rules do allow an expiry date on a card given out purely for marketing, say a $20 card handed out with a $100 purchase, or on a card tied to a specific good or service that predates the regulation. At the point of sale you have to spell out any fees or restrictions in writing, and the card itself has to show how a customer can check their balance. None of this is complicated once you know it. It’s worth getting right before your gift card sales pick up, not after a customer calls asking why the one from last December won’t scan.
What This Actually Costs You
Almost none of it costs money you don’t already have. CFIB’s toolkit and checklist are free. A sign at the counter and a few posts cost nothing but your time. The Downtown Halifax and Spring Garden gift guide runs $55 plus tax for a half page, for whenever that window reopens next fall. The real cost is time: an hour deciding on the offer, an afternoon getting the word out, and whatever it takes to have enough hands on the floor for the traffic the day brings. None of that time is wasted even if November 28 itself turns out quiet, since the signage, the posts and the gift card terms you fix now carry you through the rest of the season. For more on running a business here, the Halifax Business Blog has other posts on costs and free local help, including what Halifax Partnership actually offers if you want a second set of eyes on your plan.
The Bottom Line
Small Business Saturday isn’t going to make or break your year by itself. What it gives you is a fixed date to organize around, and a reason customers already have in their heads to pick a shop like yours over a chain that particular week. Use the three weeks left to pick one offer, say it loudly, and get your gift card terms right before the first one sells.
One more thing, since this is the work I actually do. The run-up to the holidays is also a natural point to have someone look at your current commercial coverage and tell you plainly whether it still fits the business you’re running now, with no sales pitch attached.
Want a Straight Read Before the Rush?
If you want a plain read on your coverage, or anything else about running a business in Halifax heading into the holidays, I’m happy to help.
About the author. Rayanur Rahman writes about running and growing a business in Halifax. He is a commercial insurance broker with Western Financial Group in Bedford, Nova Scotia, and works with businesses of every kind across the Halifax Regional Municipality. Reach him at 902-321-1712 or book a 30 minute call.
Sources: CFIB: Small Business Saturday. CFIB: Small businesses looking to reverse consumer spending slump. Government of Nova Scotia: Gift Card Regulations. Downtown Halifax Business Commission: Holiday Gift Guide. Photo by Haberdoedas on Unsplash. Photo by Danial Dezfouli on Unsplash. Prices and program details checked November 2026 and can change. General information only.
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