Small Retailers Hope for Late Holiday Push, Some Report Sales Down 20-30%
Small businesses are counting on strong Christmas sales to help their bottom lines and are welcoming customers like Golden Valley resident Marc Johnson-Pencook.
Every couple of weeks you’ll find Johnson-Pencook looking to add to his record collection. He does that by shopping locally at Fly Vintage and Vinyl in Robbinsdale.
“It’s not huge, but it always has something I’m looking for all the time,” said Johnson-Pencook.
Marc Johnson-Pencook shops at Fly Vintage and Vinyl
Small business owners are under increasing pressure to attract buyers to their stores and away from large online sellers and big retail stores.
“I think it you talk to a lot of small businesses, you’ll hear that a lot of places are saying they are down 20-30 percent this year,” said Christa Kalk, owner of Minnesota Makers in Robbinsdale.
The store owner appreciated the attention Small Business Saturday gave to her store.
“It’s the day where everyone comes out to support small business. Big box stores win the game in a lot of ways, and so it gives us all a chance to highlight what we have,” said Kalk.
Kalk said she couldn’t have been happier with the Small Business Saturday turnout.
“It was really fun, we had a lot of people here, probably 1,000 people came through that day,” said Kalk.
Inside Minnesota Makers store in Robbinsdale
Retail Survey Expects Sales to Rise
Saturday’s shop local was the biggest shopping day of the whole year at Minnesota Makers, both in terms of sales and foot traffic.
The latest numbers from the National Retail Federation show that overall holiday shopping season is on track to meet its forecast. The retail group estimates that holiday sales will rise by 6 to 8 percent over last year. However, some of that increase will come from nearly 40-year high inflation.
Small businesses are hoping that their bottom lines will reflect that retail survey.
Meanwhile, Johnson-Pencook will continue to do his part to support the local economy.
“I also think right here there’s not another record merchant, so I just love the culture that is planted here with this type of store. It adds more color to the local community.”
Sarah Alain reporting
