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The holiday shopping season is officially under way this week, and City of Andalusia officials are encouraging residents to shop local, especially on Saturday, which is known nationwide as “Small Business Saturday.”

“The holiday shopping season is critically important for the success of retailers, especially for our locally-owned businesses,” Mayor Earl Johnson said.

To encourage local residents to support local businesses, the City has purchased 1,000 reusable shopping bags which it is providing local retailers to begin using this weekend.

“It is our hope that Andalusia shoppers will use these bags as a reminder of the importance of local retail to our economy,” the mayor said.

The City promotes shopping at home every holiday season, but decided to put an extra spin on it this year with the bags.

“We track our retail sales month-to-month and year-to-year,” the mayor said. “We can see, analytically, how important these sales are to local business owners. These businesses support the local teams, bands, and special events that make our community so special, and I want to encourage you to support them in return.”

Local retailers who haven’t received shopping bags to distribute this week should call Michele Gerlach at 334-488-5317.

The mayor said that local retail sales and lodging have been on an upward trend in December in the past 11 years.

“We know that retail sales in the month of December grew 35 percent in the first 10 years we partnered with the Andalusia Area Chamber of Commerce to present Christmas in Candyland,” Johnson said. “This event brings thousands of people to our community, and helps our retailers and restaurants have successful seasons.”

Last year, there were more than 65,000 visits to Candyland, which opens this year on Friday, Dec. 6.