ORLANDO, Fla. – This Saturday, Rare Earth in Ivanhoe Village is expanding its operating hours. Angela Schwonek notes that sales typically soar to nearly three times the norm during this weekend.

“We need to be present and open early because we know the streets will be bustling with people,” Schwonek explained.

Meanwhile, over in Audubon Park along Corrine Drive, Hellcats USA is also experiencing a surge in business. Co-founder Clark Orr attributes this to the rapid growth of the neighborhood.

“We spent about three and a half years at our previous spot, and just in the past year, we’ve witnessed a significant uptick in visitors to the area,” he shared.

Brittany Reagan and Orr, the co-owners, mention that this weekend kicks off the bustling holiday shopping period.

“People buying from big box stores — they’re not celebrating when they make sales. However, we are celebrating when we make sales and when we meet goals,” Reagan said.

A record 186.9 million people are expected to shop from now through Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insight Analytics. But several small businesses say they can’t slash prices by 40% or more like big box retailers.

“It is so hard to do huge discounts because that actually hurts our business. We try to do something nice for the customers and hope they understand,” Reagan said.

Small business owners also point to tariffs causing challenges this year.

“There are a few products that we just haven’t been able to order because we’d have to raise the price so much, and we don’t want to do that. We try to keep a good base range,” Reagan said.

It’s why many are leaning heavily on social media and even opening on Sunday to give customers more time to shop.