Business Wire India
American Express, which has a long history of backing small businesses, announces the launch of its largest-ever global Shop Small Campaign, that includes a commitment of more than $200 million to help jumpstart spending at small merchants, many of which were impacted by COVID-19[1]. To encourage consumers to Shop Small, American Express is offering a ?300 cashback for the enrolled India Cardmembers after they spend ?1,500 or more at any eligible small merchant when they shop in-store, up to five times beginning now till November 30, 2020.

In India, the Shop Small campaign covers small and medium-sized merchants across Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru covering retail shops, healthcare services, restaurants and hotels.

American Express has also made it easier for its Cardmembers to locate small merchants that are open for in-store purchases in their vicinity through a Shop Small Map.

As part of the Shop Small campaign American Express is providing Merchant Recovery Kits to small businesses with a range of Shop Small POP, social distancing materials and hygiene supplies such as hand sanitizer sprays, masks, and face shields to help them maintain in-store hygiene and re-start their business with confidence while ensuring the safety of their customers.

Speaking about the launch, Manoj Adlakha, SVP and CEO, American Express Banking Corp. India said, “Small businesses are the backbone of the Indian economy and have been impacted the most during the pandemic. Through our Shop Small initiative, we are reinforcing our long-standing commitment to support small businesses by bringing them closer in the safest possible way to the consumers and providing them the required resources to revive their business with confidence.”

To support small merchants with reopening, American Express has also created an online hub ‘All for Small’ which will host turnkey marketing tools, expert insights and advice, special savings on curated solutions to help them market their business and other resources. For this, American Express has partnered with Google, Facebook, Amazon, and PayPal amongst others to provide online marketing tutorials and tools.

“The pandemic has changed the way all of us live, eat and shop. Shop Small by American Express is a welcome initiative as it encourages us to get back to our lives and livelihoods and also ensures that small shops are supported. We, at Retailers Association of India, believe that these kinds of initiatives help in bringing back the cheer to one of the largest growing economies of the world,” says Kumar Rajagopalan, Chief Executive Officer, Retailers Association of India.

American Express has backed its merchants during the unprecedented pandemic through a slew of measures: (i) increased communication to help them accelerate their digital journey and manage financial information (ii) providing recovery support by conducting sanitization drives at the offline shops (iii) growth support through the Shop Small campaign and (iv) Extending dispute response time for merchants to 30 days between March 1, 2020, and June 30, 2020.