Office of Governor Tony Evers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 1, 2025
Contact: [email protected] 
 
Gov. Evers Celebrates “Shop Small Wisconsin,” Encourages Wisconsinites to Shop Local this Holiday Season 
 
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers this week is kicking off the holiday season, celebrating “Shop Small Wisconsin Season” and encouraging Wisconsinites to shop at Wisconsin’s many local small businesses during the holidays.  

For the fifth consecutive year, Gov. Evers has proclaimed the weeks between Small Business Saturday through the end of the year as “Shop Small Wisconsin Season.” This year, the Shop Small Wisconsin Season will take place from Nov. 29, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2025, encouraging Wisconsinites to shop local and support Wisconsin’s Main Streets and small businesses during the holiday season. A copy of the governor’s 2025 Shop Small Wisconsin Season proclamation is available here.  

“From retail and art to restaurants and coffee shops, small businesses are the hearts of our main streets, supporting Wisconsin families, creating community spaces, and bringing unique products and services to every corner of our state,” said Gov. Evers. “Small businesses are more likely to buy supplies locally, hire locally, and give back to their communities, making them powerful drivers of our local and statewide economies. As Wisconsinites set out to do their holiday shopping, we are encouraging folks to keep their dollars local, and we look forward to getting out and meeting with many of our state’s incredible small business owners in the days and weeks to come.”  

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, in 2025, small businesses comprised more than 99 percent of businesses in Wisconsin and employed 1.2 million individuals across the state, nearly half of all Wisconsin workers. It is also estimated that approximately two-thirds of every dollar spent at a small business stays in the local community. 

The Evers Administration has invested millions of dollars to support small businesses and downtowns across the state in recent years, including through the “We’re All In” initiative and Wisconsin Tomorrow Small Business Recovery Grant program, which were both created by the Evers Administration to support small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, thanks to the state’s successful Main Street Bounceback Grant Program, Wisconsinites have thousands of new businesses to support on Main Streets across the state this holiday season.  

In 2025, Gov. Evers and the Evers Administration have made supporting Wisconsin’s small businesses a top priority. In April, Gov. Evers, together with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), announced $3.2 million in Small Business Development Grants for 19 Wisconsin small businesses, and in July, Gov. Evers and WEDC announced an additional $1.5 million in Small Business Development Grants. In August, Gov. Evers successfully secured designations for four counties and four census tracts as Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones), providing critical opportunities for local businesses to grow and compete in the federal marketplace. Not to mention, the governor has worked to fight efforts in Washington to cut federal small business programs, including sending a letter to the Trump Administration and every member of Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation urging federal leadership to support reauthorizing several U.S. Small Business Association small business programs, which are instrumental in supporting the success and growth of Wisconsin small businesses, entrepreneurs, and innovative technology industry.  

Throughout the Shop Small Wisconsin Season, the governor and members of his administration are encouraging all Wisconsinites to celebrate small businesses and the many contributions they make to communities across the state, to explore new small businesses and champion their success, and to show support for their neighbors and communities by shopping local this holiday season at their favorite small businesses. More information about the Shop Small Wisconsin Season, including ways to participate and facts and figures about the impact of shopping small during the holidays, is available on WEDC’s website here.   
 
An online version of this release is available here.
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