(Radio Iowa)  – While retailers nationwide are bracing for a shopping extravaganza on this Black Friday, locally-owned merchants across Iowa are hoping for a bigger boost tomorrow. Jayne Armstrong, director of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Iowa District Office, says Small Business Saturday is a crucial day for the state’s consumers to “Be Loyal, Buy Local.”

Armstrong says 97-percent of Iowa’s businesses are small businesses and embracing them improves the backbone of our state.

If you’d like to support Iowa’s wealth of merchants who are outside of your immediate area, dozens of businesses are offering their wares at shop-iowa-dot-com, which Armstrong says makes it easy to patronize even more hometown heroes in -other- Iowa towns.

The website covers a wide array of goods, including artwork, furniture, food, toys, t-shirts, beauty care products, jewelry and more, all crafted in the Hawkeye State.

https://www.shopiowa.com/