When customers enter Lisa DeCavalcante’s Camp Hill store, they are greeted by employees, who are on hand to discuss deals and guide patrons through picking out “thoughtful” gifts, she said.

Those intimate customer-employee interactions are what set her small business, Little Black Dress, apart from large corporate retailers, she said.

And it’s part of what attracted customers – both regular and new – to the store on Saturday, according to DeCavalcante who reported steady consumer traffic.

The Saturday after Black Friday has become known as Small Business Saturday, a day when consumers are asked to visit small local shops instead of large corporate retailers.

“It’s just a good way to get out and see what Camp Hill has to offer,” DeCavalcante said, adding that spending money at local shops ensures they will stay in business. “If you want to have that, you have to support them.”

In addition to offering discount prices, DeCavalcante said her store hosted style and cocktail experts that made presentations to customers, who visited the store for the shopping holiday.

“This is one of our busiest days,” she said, explaining Small Business Saturday often attracts regular customers, who bring along relatives visiting the area for Thanksgiving.

At Holmes Cycling & Fitness, Saturday crowds were not as large as during the busy summer months, manager Ray Adams said.

Still, the shopping holiday attracted larger crowds than are normal for the cooler off-season, Adams said.

“For a fall or winter day, it is one of our busiest of the year,” he said.

Like DeCavalcante, Adams said customers prefer the small business because of the level of attention and knowledge available from its employees.

“We find our customers put a premium on our expertise,” he said, explaining the cycling and fitness shop’s owners extended deals Saturday both in-store and online.

Small Business Saturday wasn’t celebrated locally only in Camp Hill. Businesses like Midtown Scholar in Harrisburg took to social media to share details about deals and promotions.

And crowds of people flocked to The Odd Ones Holiday Bizarre at The Millworks in Harrisburg for an all-day shopping event featuring dozens of artists and crafters.