CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – Following Black Friday, it’s Small Business Saturday and Charlottesville shoppers were out.

It’s a day for people to support mom-and-pop stores.

If you missed Black Friday deals, Small Business Saturday offered another opportunity. The question is; do people still like to shop in-person or do they prefer online shopping? Some businesses say this is a good time for them.

“Very busy,” said Senlin Means, co-owner of bookstore The Beautiful Idea. “Yesterday was very busy as well, though I don’t know that I’ve seen much of a difference between business today and Black Friday.”

Decades Arcade Manager Lindsey Daniels says Thanksgiving attracted some business.

“We’re finding that people are bringing their families,” Daniels said. “They’re still in town from Thanksgiving and so they wanna go out and they wanna do something fun.”

Small Business Saturday is taking over the historic Downtown Mall.

Means says shopping in person is a part of the experience.

“It means a heck of a lot,” Means said. “There’s a lot of stuff we have that you really can’t get online.”

Daniels says the diversity of the Downtown Mall keeps people interested in the long term.

“Here are businesses that don’t exist anywhere else,” Daniels said. “You have an essential part of Charlottesville right here that is being formed by all the small businesses.”

Something new Daniels is trying is teaming up with other small businesses on the Mall to create unique experiences for customers.

“We’ve done passes to the arcade, cupcakes to Vivi’s [Cakes and Candy], and then Alakazam Toys and you can buy that at any of our three businesses,” Daniels said.

Customers say Small Business Saturday feels more authentic than Black Friday because it feels personal.

“Nice thing about small businesses I think is that difference and that variety,” customer David Orman said. “It needs to keep going.”

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