Small Business Saturday Gift Guide & Marina Playbook

Small Business Saturday at the Marina

Small Business Saturday lands on November 29, 2025, and it’s a ready-made moment to spotlight local shopping, waterfront services, and partner experiences before the holidays. The day began in 2010 and sits inside American Express’s broader Shop Small effort, with free creative assets and community programs marinas can leverage. SBA has supported the observance for years alongside local chambers and cities, which helps your messaging cut through the noise between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Frame the weekend as “keep it on the water, keep it in the community,” then give customers simple ways to act. 

Goals, Timeline, and a One Page Plan

Pick three measurable targets: store revenue, service prepayments, and partner redemptions. Use a four-week runway: teaser at T-28, offer reveal at T-14, countdown at T-7, and week-of reminders. Pull ready to use art and copy from the Shop Small resource hub and, if applicable, ensure your location is findable on AmEx’s tools so locals hunting for small businesses can see you. Build a single one-pager the team will carry: offers with SKUs and prices, staffing plan, quick photo list for social, and a scoreboard for the day.

Offers that Convert: Gift Cards, Bundles, Service Prebuys

Create three lanes so every visitor can say yes.
• Gift cards: “Buy $100, get $10 bonus value” with clear terms; load stored value and bonus value as separate POS items.
• Bundles: Good/Better/Best at round numbers. Example: $49 hat, sunscreen, and $10 store credit; $99 tumbler, dock lines, and $20 credit; $199 detail kit and a voucher for a spring engine check.
• Service prebuys: Winter Watch, battery tending, and a spring-launch priority package with dates and what’s included.
Put it all on a one-page menu with a QR to a fast checkout. If you use partner add-ons (dining, hotel, charters), assign unique codes for easy reconciliation. (Use SBA and Shop Small materials for signage and quick posts.)

Merchandising and the Gift Table

Stage a five-stop loop: Gift Cards, Gift Table by Price, Apparel Wall, Safety Must-Haves, Service Desk. The gift table should be a waist-high display with price stacks at $25, $50, and $100 and a small photo card for each item. Pre-bag popular bundles to speed the line. Photograph the table on Friday and use the image in Saturday morning email and social posts with a “shop this table” link that lists every SKU. If you accept AmEx and choose to be listed, ensure your location appears correctly so shoppers searching the map can find you.

Staffing, Scripts, and POS Setup

Run a simple floor plan: door greeter, stocking runner, register lead, and one floating advisor who answers service questions and nudges toward prebuys. Post a small cheat sheet at the counter so every staffer quotes the same numbers.
Three short scripts to memorize:

• Gift cards: “Most guests pick the one hundred dollar card for the bonus. Would you like one or two?”
• Bundles: “This table shows our best sellers by price. Shopping for a new boater or for a family?”
• Service prebuys: “Planning an early launch? The priority package saves time in spring. Want me to add it?”

In the POS, separate stored value from bonus value, confirm tax rules for services, and test a few sample sales so receipts read clearly.

Promo Timeline with Ready to Post Copy

T-14 email (subject): “Small Business Saturday at the Marina.” Preheader: “Gift cards, bundles, and local partner perks.”
T-7 social: “Seven days to go. Peek at the gift table and vote for the next bundle.”
Week-of email: “Saturday plans? Shop small at the marina.” Bullets: top three offers, hours, parking, and how online gift cards work.
Friday photo post: your three price stacks captioned, “Pick a price, grab a bundle, you’re done.”
Saturday reel: a quick walkthrough from door to checkout ending at the service desk.
Saturday afternoon reminder: “Final hours. Bonus value on gift cards ends today.”
Sunday thanks: “Thanks for shopping local. Your support keeps our waterfront strong.”

Online and Remote Sales

Build one clean landing page listing gift cards, three featured bundles, and service prepay options. Keep photos consistent and copy clear. Offer curbside pickup and simple ship-to-home for light items. Embed terms for bonus value and service scheduling. Test the full flow the day before: add to cart, pay, confirmation, and an auto-generated pick ticket. Leave the page live through December with a banner that reads “Miss the rush? Shop local here.”

Partner Tie-Ins that Raise the Ticket

Bundle slips with experiences: transient moorage plus a dining credit, or a hotel night plus a one-hour kayak per guest. Publish blackout dates and a single redemption code. Display partner deals on a small board near the entrance and repeat them on the landing page. Ask partners to host the same link on their sites and socials. Track redemptions with unique codes and reconcile monthly. After the weekend, send a two-question survey to buyers to refine spring packages.

On-site Experience and Flow

Set a sidewalk sign at the entrance with hours, the three headline offers, and where to line up. Keep displays to the five zones, use large high-contrast signs, and put a small “Ask me about service prebuys” tent card on each table. Add a quick lane for gift cards. Place impulse items at eye level near the register and keep a small basket of pre-bagged bundles within reach. Mind comfort: water cooler, cocoa urn, and a bench for families. Post accepted payment types near the door to reduce questions.

Inventory and Logistics

Work from a short buy sheet listing each bundle and how many you plan to sell. Pre-bag best sellers and barcode them as single SKUs. Create a back room map for refills and stage a restock cart beside the sales floor. For online orders, set a “hold shelf” near the office, labeled by last name and order number. Keep packaging simple and uniform so the line moves. At close, count remaining units and gift card activations and take photos of each display for next year’s plan.

Clear Terms, Simple Policies

Write gift card terms in plain language: how stored value works, how any bonus value works, and when bonus value expires. Explain return rules for apparel and gear and note that services are scheduled in advance and may have a change fee. Add a short privacy note for email or SMS opt-in at checkout. For partner offers, list what’s included, blackout dates, how to book, and a contact number for changes. Train the team to point to the policy card to minimize debate.

Weather Plan, Customer Comfort

Late November can be brisk, so keep comfort in view from parking lot to register. Confirm any space heaters are set safely away from traffic. Place door mats at thresholds and add a drying station for wet decks. If rain is forecast, pitch a small canopy at the entrance and move the gift table inside the first aisle to avoid bottlenecks. Use a go/no-go grid by weather type: light rain (operate as planned), heavy rain (open an hour early for curbside), freezing rain (curbside until conditions improve), high wind (secure outdoor signage). If hours change, update your website banner, Google Business Profile, and a pinned social post at least two hours before opening.

Access and Inclusive Service

Publish a simple parking map on your landing page showing accessible spaces and the shortest route to the store. Keep thirty-six inches of aisle width and set one lower checkout surface. Where doors are heavy, post a greeter during peak times to help and to hand out the gift guide. Offer a text-to-pay option for guests who prefer to avoid lines and curbside handoff for anyone who asks. Train staff to give clear directions by landmark and to offer carry-out for larger bags.

Winter Watch, Gift Cards, and Service Prepay Cross-Sell

Connect your Saturday offers to next season. Place a small sign at the register: “Ask about Winter Watch photo checks.” Attach a simple card to each bundle listing three service prebuys with a checkbox for the cashier: Winter Watch, battery tending, and spring-launch priority. Add a slip that explains how online gift cards can be used for services in January and February. The aim is to convert impulse into planned revenue before spring.

Measurement and Follow-Ups

Define success in advance and track it live: total revenue, average order, transactions, gift card units, bundle units, service prebuys, and partner redemptions. Track attachment rate and out-of-stocks for next year’s buy sheet. Keep a whiteboard tally so staff can see progress toward goals. At checkout, collect email and SMS opt-in with a simple promise: “Spring Launch weekend early access.” On Sunday, send a thank-you note with a gentle nudge: “Miss the rush? Gift cards remain available online.” Tag buyers by product type so you can retarget: bundle buyers get an early apparel preview, service prebuy customers receive scheduling links in January, and gift card buyers get a balance reminder in March.

Simple Budget and ROI Mini Model

List expected costs (staff hours, bundle components, packaging, signage, paid posts if any) and revenue lines (gift cards, bundles, service prebuys, partner fees). Enter conservative unit targets and round prices to estimate gross revenue. Subtract cost of goods and event costs to see event margin. Add three quick sensitivity levers: if traffic is light, focus on attachment with a visible gift card lane and the best-seller bundle; if traffic is heavy, protect margin by holding to inventory caps and shifting staff to greeter-runner-register-advisor; if weather turns, pivot to curbside and online with the same offers.

Wrap, Save, and Reuse

Post a thank-you on social, list top sellers, and link the gift card page for late buyers. Archive your assets so next fall is plug-and-play: floor map, price cards, scripts, photo angles, landing page copy, and the budget with actuals. Keep a partner contact sheet with codes and reconciliation notes. Book a brief team review to mark keep, cut, or change on each offer, and drop an early-October calendar reminder to duplicate the plan with updated dates. The closing message is simple and honest: shopping local keeps the waterfront strong, and your marina makes it easy to do.

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About MariCorp

Maricorp is one of the largest floating boat dock manufacturing and construction companies in the United States, specializing in galvanized steel floating docks and boat lift systems. With projects spanning coast-to-coast, Maricorp provides marina consultation and design, marine construction, marina repair and renovation, and boat dock disaster response and demolition.