Short answer: Small Business Saturday falls on Saturday, November 28, 2026, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. To take part, download the free Shop Small materials, order the free signs and tell your customers. If you accept American Express Cards, also check your listing on the Shop Small Map.
What Small Business Saturday is
American Express founded Small Business Saturday in 2010, and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has officially cosponsored it since 2011. The SBA calls it an important part of the busiest shopping season for small businesses.
The day is celebrated each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving in the United States. For 2026, the SBA gives the date as Saturday, November 28.
Small Business Saturday is part of Shop Small, a movement American Express describes as celebrating small businesses on that Saturday and every day.
What the program offers your business
American Express offers tools and resources to small business owners with a physical or online presence. They include free marketing materials, such as social media posts and printable signs, that you can use throughout the year.
You don’t need to be an American Express Card Member or accept American Express Cards to get the free downloadable materials.
A qualifying small business that accepts American Express Cards can also be recommended to Card Members for free. That can happen in emails to Card Members, in their online accounts and in search results on the Shop Small Map.
The Shop Small Map, the recommendations, the signs and supplies, and digital materials such as social media posts and email templates are all free. American Express says owners only pay for printing any materials they download.
Download the free materials
On the materials page of the Shop Small Resource Hub, you select designs, download them and post them on your accounts. The SBA’s page sends small business owners to these same materials.
The collections cover Small Business Saturday, holidays and seasons, milestones, and sports and events, plus printable posters. The Small Business Saturday assets come as square social media posts, vertical stories, digital banners and printable posters.
Each social design in that collection comes with a caption idea and options for a call to action. One invites customers to stop by on November 28 and celebrate the businesses that make the community feel like home.
A link on that page downloads all the Small Business Saturday assets at once. The page also offers a marketing toolkit for messaging guidance, brand instructions and social media tips.
By downloading, you confirm that you have reviewed and agree to the Shop Small Marketing Materials for Merchants Terms of Use, and that you can accept them for your business. American Express also reminds owners not to alter the assets, except as allowed, or use them outside their intended purpose.
In our view, pick one design and use it in your posts, your stories and your window, so customers see the same image wherever they find you.
Order the free signs
The Shop Small Resource Hub invites you to order a free Small Business Saturday Marketing Kit and free Shop Small signage. American Express presents the signs as a way to let your community know you’re taking part.
The signs and supplies page lists every item at no cost. Among them are a window decal, a counter sign, a pennant, “I Shopped Small” stickers and an “In Business Since” decal sheet.
You select the items that work best for your business and place your order.
In our view, order them as soon as you decide to take part, because the date won’t move.
Get on the Shop Small Map
The Shop Small Map is a directory where Card Members discover businesses that accept American Express Cards, both brick-and-mortar and online. American Express’s first step is to visit the Map, see whether you’ve been listed automatically and check your information.
To appear on the Shop Small Map, a business must accept American Express Cards. It must also be located in the 50 states, the District of Columbia or another place American Express lists, such as Puerto Rico.
A brick-and-mortar business needs at least 1 and no more than 25 locations. American Express also sets a maximum annual charge volume on its Cards and limits for franchise brands.
Some industries are excluded, among them government agencies, gas stations, travel agencies, charities and non-profits. A merchant that has been with American Express for more than 12 months must have had at least 1 transaction in the last calendar year.
In some cases, a business that takes American Express Cards only through a third-party processor, or as part of an affiliate program, may be left off American Express Maps. One example is a processor that lets you accept cards with a reader attached to a mobile device. It depends on whether that processor gives American Express enough data to check the criteria.
A qualifying business may not show up on the Shop Small Map automatically and may have to opt in. These are the steps American Express gives to add a location:
- Log in to your American Express merchant account. If you don’t have an account, you’ll be directed to create one.
- If you land on your dashboard, click the “Shop Small® Map Listing” link.
- On the map, click your business location.
- Check that the toggle for “Show on Shop Small® Map” is selected.
- Click the edit icon on the right side of the page to update your public information. Then click “Save” after each part you change.
To log in, you need your Merchant ID or an Access Code from American Express communications, or your User ID and password. Updates aren’t immediate: in some cases, American Express may take 2 to 3 business days to verify a change.
A business with no physical address for shoppers to visit can go in the Online Directory, which is part of American Express Maps. When you confirm your details, update your URL and select “Card Members cannot visit location” in the Servicing section.
American Express says it cannot guarantee your business will appear on American Express Maps. In our view, look yourself up on the Map at least a week before the Saturday, since a change may take 2 to 3 business days to show.
Tell your customers
The SBA’s page uses the #ShopSmall hashtag, and every caption idea on the American Express materials page ends with it.
For your email list, the day fits the ideas in our email newsletter guide. Among them are a reminder before a busy season, an event and an offer.
If you text your customers, text only the ones who agreed to receive texts. Our SMS marketing guide explains the consent you need before the first text.
On Google, a Business Profile post can be an update, an offer or an event. An offer needs a title, dates and times, and an event takes a title and start and end dates, as our Google Business Profile posts guide shows.
If your hours change that day, set them in Special hours on your Business Profile, so your regular week stays as it is. Our guide to changing business hours on Google covers special and holiday hours.
In our view, every message should carry the date and one reason to come in that day, such as something new or an offer. Send the email a few days before, so customers can plan the visit.
Before Small Business Saturday
- The date is in your plans: Saturday, November 28, 2026.
- You read the terms of use and downloaded the materials you’ll use.
- Your signs are ordered.
- If you accept American Express Cards, you checked your listing on the Shop Small Map.
- If your hours change that day, your special hours are set on Google.
- Your email and your Google post carry the date, and texts go only to customers who agreed.
RememberSmall Business Saturday is on November 28, 2026. You don’t need to accept American Express to download the free materials, and the Shop Small Map is for qualifying businesses that accept its Cards.
Our email and SMS service writes to your customers twice a month in the language they speak, and only texts the ones who said yes.
Questions about Small Business Saturday
Why can’t I find my business on the Shop Small Map?
It may not qualify, or its preference for appearing on American Express Maps may not be set to “Yes”. American Express Maps also returns only 100 businesses for each search, so filtering by industry or entering more of the address may show different results.
Can my store and my online shop both be listed?
It depends on your Merchant Numbers, since you can choose only one listing per Merchant Number. With separate numbers for the store and the online business, one can go on the Map and the other in the Online Directory. With the same number, you pick one.
Can I use the materials after Small Business Saturday?
Yes. American Express says its free marketing materials can be used throughout the year to show shoppers they can Shop Small at your business. The collections also cover holidays and seasons, milestones, and sports and events.
Does taking part mean the SBA endorses my business?
No. The SBA cosponsors Small Business Saturday. Its page says its participation is not an endorsement of the views, opinions, products or services of any cosponsor or other person or entity.
Who can I ask about Shop Small?
American Express has a Shop Small servicing center you can call from 9 AM to 6 PM ET, Monday through Friday. You can also email it. The phone number and the email address are on the American Express Map FAQs page.
Sources
Read on November 9, 2026. From American Express, on Shop Small: American Express Shop Small® Resource Hub, Free Shop Small® Marketing Materials for Small Businesses and Free Signs and Supplies. On its Map and its questions for merchants: Merchant Recommendations and American Express Map FAQs. From the SBA: Small Business Saturday.