Local Retailers See Holiday Sales Bump
During the holiday season, you’d be hard-pressed to find a gift shop more festive than The Woods.
“They have a lot of cute stuff and it’s the time of the season to buy gifts,” said Sue Elwood of Otsego.
Elwood is one of the many people to come to this Maple Grove store over the last few days to get in a little shopping for the holidays, and for herself.
“Stuff is, you know, cute,” Elwood said. “You know, stuff you don’t see in Target.”
Comments like that are music to the ears of co-owner Dave Looney, who says they’ve had a strong start to the Christmas shopping season.
“We had a great weekend,” Looney said. “We’re up significantly, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.”
Looney says that’s due, in part, to the store’s emphasis on Small Business Saturday, when they offered a free gift for anyone who spent $40.
A customer at The Woods in Maple Grove makes a purchase in store on Cyber Monday. The Woods is located at 15825 95th Ave N in Maple Grove.
Spending $40 isn’t hard to do in a place like The Woods.
“We offer something, and a look, that you don’t see anywhere else,” Looney said. “Even in the gift industry, we offer items that you don’t see elsewhere.”
However, according to business and marketing professor George John from the University of Minnesota, other retailers shouldn’t necessarily get their hopes up.
“So the National Retail Federation is expecting about a 3 to 4 percent growth in sales for this Christmas season; again, extending from Halloween to Christmas,” John said. “However, if inflation comes in at about 3, 3.5 percent, you’re basically treading water.”
In other words, John said this holiday shopping season will be decent, just not great. But it helps when retailers offer real incentives for people to walk into their stores, as they did at The Woods.
“The fundamentals look good for [Looney], and I think that’s the kind of small business that has a bright future,” John said.
With unique items, no supply-chain issues, and an emphasis on customer service, Looney’s hopeful about the coming weeks.
“No heavy snows, good weather,” Looney said as he crossed his fingers. “Other than that, we’re very optimistic of this holiday season.”
Related: The Days Before Christmas: A Look Inside One Business
