A cash mob “is a show of support,” Ceru said. “The question it raises is one of sustainability. This creates an immediate short-term cash infusion, but the bigger question is what happens on Day 2, on Day 20, on Day 200.

“If a campaign like this raises awareness of the business among people who do not regularly shop there, then that’s useful. But in the end, is it a flash-in-the-pan cash infusion, or does it translate to sustainability for the business?”

Symbolic or not, Rebecca Harrison Parker said, she would not think of being anywhere except the West Concord 5 & 10 on Saturday with $20 in hand.

“I have great memories of going to the West Concord 5 & 10 as a kid,” said Parker, who grew up near Concord in the 1970s. “My three siblings and I always asked our mom to take us there. We shopped for toys and candy. Bazooka bubble gum with the comics inside and woven finger-traps were favorites.

“In high school, I worked there during the holidays stocking shelves,’’ she said. “It hasn’t really changed a lot that I’ve noticed, and now I bring my four daughters there.”

As Stadt sees it, showing support for Curtis and his family is about something greater than just keeping the shelves of a favorite business stocked.