Small businesses looking to reverse consumer spending slump as Small Business Saturday kicks off holiday shopping season

One in three small businesses depend on holiday sales as CFIB urges Canadians to make every dollar count this Small Business Saturday®, November 29

With the holiday shopping season kicking off this weekend, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is calling on Canadians to choose local first.

“The holiday season is make-or-break for thousands of small businesses across the country,” said Ryan Mallough, CFIB vice-president of legislative affairs. “We’ve seen a really great uptick in people buying local and Canadian goods as the Canada-U.S. trade battle continues. We want to see that trend continue on Small Business Saturday to kick off a strong finish to what has been an extremely turbulent year for small businesses.”

Small Business Saturday, presented by CFIB, is an annual celebration promoting shopping local at the start of the busy holiday shopping season. The initiative is part of CFIB’s ongoing efforts to champion small business resilience amid rising costs, labour shortages, and economic uncertainty.

According to CFIB’s latest data, one third (33%) of small businesses count on the upcoming holiday sales. Compared to last holiday season, one in five (20%) small firms expect lower sales revenue, while just over half (52%) expect sales to remain flat. CFIB’s Monthly Business Barometer^® has shown lack of consumer demand as the top barrier to small business growth for more than two years.

“Supporting small businesses and choosing to shop intentionally is one of the easiest ways to strengthen our communities and economy. When you shop local, 66 cents of every dollar goes back into the community,” Mallough said. “This holiday season, support Canadian-owned businesses including franchises or check out your local business first instead of ordering from an online giant. Let’s make every dollar count.”

Canadians can visit SmallBusinessEveryDay.ca for free tools and resources to participate in Small Business Saturday^® and support local businesses year-round.

Methodology

Final results for the Your Voice- September survey. The online survey was conducted between September 11-25, 2025, n= 2,478. For comparison purposes, a probability sample with the same number of respondents would have a margin of error of at most +/- 2.0%, 19 times out of 20.

Small Business Saturday®

Small Business Saturday^® is brought to you by CFIB and Amex^®. It encourages shopping small and provides posters and other promotional tools for businesses.

About CFIB

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 100,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.

Source: Canadian Federation of Independent Business