Small Business Saturday; Milwaukee shops, vendors pivot due to winter storm

Winter storm forces Milwaukee shops to pivot for Small Business Saturday

A snowstorm sidelined Small Business Saturday plans, but Milwaukee businesses adapted quickly, shifting events and sales to keep holiday momentum going.

MILWAUKEE - Saturday’s heavy snowfall forced a sudden reset for many small businesses across Milwaukee, disrupting plans for what is typically one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

A change of plans

What we know:

Small Business Saturday is typically one of the busiest days for small businesses, and offers a major boost for local shops during the holiday season. But with inches of snow blanketing much of Wisconsin, many shoppers stayed home instead.

That pushed business owners to make a shift in plans.

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At the Milwaukee Makers Market, organizers shifted plans rather than cancel altogether. Ryan Laessig, the market’s owner, said the event is designed to spotlight local creatives and makers.

Shifting gears

Local perspective:

"Weather just came for Shop Small Saturday," said Laessig.

Instead of hosting vendors on Saturday, the market moved inside Discovery World for a Sunday event, bringing together about 40 vendors for a make-up shopping day.

"Candle makers, jewelry, artists, baked goods," said Laessig. "We want to make sure we showcase Milwaukee's creatives and makers and artists."

Rather than letting vendors miss out on critical holiday revenue, Laessig said the organizers worked quickly with Discovery World to pivot plans.

"We were able to pivot with Discovery World to Shop Small Sunday," he said.

More than 1,000 people showed up for the rescheduled event, according to Laessig. Vendors said the turnout helped soften the blow of the storm.

"It was fantastic," said Jackie Peetz of Dusty Pete’s. "I think everybody stayed home yesterday and was eager to come out today still and it worked out great. It's one of our biggest days of the year, the holiday season's really important."

Community support helps soften storm impact

Dig deeper:

In Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward, businesses shared a similar experience. Kristen Nissen, store manager at Lela Boutique, said foot traffic was slower during the snow, prompting an earlier shift in shopping plans.

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"We do normally see a lot of foot traffic and it was a little bit slower because of the weather," Nissen said.

"If it's not going to work out on Saturday, let's try to get people to come in on Friday, and I think it worked great," she added.

Business owners say the weekend illustrates how quickly plans can change during Wisconsin winters – and why community support is important to keep businesses afloat.