what is a mom and pop establishment 
 mom and pop is a colloquial term used to describe a small family owned or independent business 1 mom and pop stores are often operations that struggle to compete with more substantial establishments such as big box retailers which generally boast more buying power than smaller players in the last few years shop local and shop small have been used as slogans in marketing campaigns to support these smaller establishments 23 the term mom and pop can also refer to inexperienced investors who casually play the market 4understanding mom and pop entitiesmom and pop stores historically were local family owned and operated general stores or drugstores today mom and pop establishments are synonymous with various different types of businesses including restaurants bookstores automotive repair shops and insurance agencies in many ways mom and pop businesses stand at a steep disadvantage to large corporations e commerce companies technology platforms and franchise businesses which enjoy bigger economies of scale greater access to capital for investments larger advertising budgets higher brand awareness and greater access to talent pools for hiring this collectively gives larger players an edge over mom and pop businesses which frequently lose ground and find themselves driven out of business when forced to compete fortunately there are signs of hope for mom and pop stores more than ever before consumers are demanding more personalized products and services when shoppers ask where can i find a mom and pop shop near me they don t need to look any further than the internet small businesses can expand their target audience and broaden their geographical reach through the use of e commerce and social media 5mom and pop shops also benefit from a phenomenon known as small business saturday which was founded by american express in 2010 and is cosponsored by the u s small business administration sba the idea was to encourage shopping locally on the saturday following thanksgiving and it appears to have worked u s consumers spent an estimated 17 9 billion at independent retailers and restaurants on small business saturday in 2022 6this shopping holiday was established in response to black friday when large retailers offer enticing discounts to consumers on the day after thanksgiving mom and pop business owners tend to have a vested interest in the community its citizens and the local economy consequently they offer highly interactive and personalized services that large corporations cannot replicate for this reason mom and pop stores often win increased brand loyalty among consumers mom and pop drugstores are typically owned and operated by the same family for generations where the druggist or pharmacist would also be the proprietor of the store mom and pop investors vs mom and pop establishments mom and pop is also used to refer to inexperienced investors who minimally invest in the stock market despite limited capital commitments mom and pop investors often count on significant returns on their trades in order to supplement their income however many mom and pop investors are unfamiliar with market research and so react impulsively to market changes and fluctuations they rashly dump their positions rather than riding out rough patches some mom and pop investors combat their inexperience by hiring brokers to facilitate trades or using one of the many online trading platforms to place their investments national mom and pop business owners day is march 29 7 the holiday was founded by rick and margie segel in 1939 as a way to honor the hat shop started by their parents that year 8