With the holiday shopping season in full swing, the City of Las Cruces Economic Development Department is encouraging shoppers to support local businesses by purchasing local goods and services as part of Small Business Saturday, Nov. 28.
“Buying local is supporting the local economy, it is shopping from business owners who we know and who may be our neighbors, friends, and family. These local businesses also employ our community members, whether it be a first job experience for someone or a life-long career,” said City of Las Cruces Economic Development Director Griselda Martinez. “This year it is especially important to show our support to our local businesses since they continue to face some tough challenges.”
According to the most recent data collected in 2018 by the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are 154,257 small businesses in New Mexico, which makes up 99 percent of businesses in the state. Small businesses within New Mexico employ 339,640 people, which is more than 54 percent of the state’s employees. These figures highlight the importance of supporting small business owners, as they work hard to adapt to these changing and challenging times.
“Many local businesses also have online shopping available, offer curbside service or delivery, which makes for an easy, stress-free way to buy and ship gifts,” Martinez said.
ShopSouthernNM.com is a new resource that helps customers discover small businesses in the area. Organized in various categories, the site was developed by the Economic Development Department as a one-stop-shop to help consumers looking to support small business owners, while also having their needs as a consumer met. For information on local businesses in Las Cruces and the rest of Doña Ana County, and/or to submit a small business to be featured, visit ShopSouthernNM.com.
Small Business Saturday, annually conducted the Saturday after Thanksgiving, was created by American Express during the 2010 recession to raise awareness of small businesses and their contributions to successful communities across America. As of October 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration reports that there are more than 32 million small businesses in the U.S. Small businesses have accounted for more than 65 percent of net new job creation since 2000.
About the Economic Development Department
The City of Las Cruces Economic Development Department is the City department primarily responsible for driving economic growth in the city. The department is composed of six different programs, administration, business development, destination downtown, land management, and real estate services, the Las Cruces International Airport and development and Visit Las Cruces, that each contributes to the economic vitality of Las Cruces.
