This holiday season, some local businesses had as much — or more — holiday shopping traffic as in previous years as many people made a point to shop locally amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin, who owns Carrie's Hallmark Shop, said it's been heartwarming to see people who have been intentional in shopping locally this holiday season.
"I've had some people that have said they did all their shopping local this year, and they made a point to tell us that," she said. "I think we've heard that more this year than ever because I think people realize just how important our businesses are in our community."
Tergin said she thinks people appreciate local businesses even more this year because the pandemic has shown how important local businesses are and how committed they are to offering personalized services safely and effectively.
"Our businesses locally will go above and beyond to make sure, through the holidays and now even after Christmas, that they will continue to serve the customers in any way that we can," she said.
Tergin said she hasn't compared this year's sales numbers to previous years, so she doesn't know yet how they compare. But even when people weren't able to be with their families for the holidays, they were still shopping for presents, she said.
"People were festive, and they seem to really have a different perspective this year," Tergin said. "People just seem to be very thankful."
In the past few years, Carrie's Hallmark had lines going down to the end of the block before opening on the day after Christmas. On Saturday, the line was just a handful of people, but it was still busy throughout the day, she noted.
On the day after Christmas, customers can come to Carrie's Hallmark at 7 a.m., two hours prior to opening, if they donate $20. All proceeds go to Central Missouri Honor Flight, a nonprofit with the mission of transporting America's veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorials that honor their service. Carrie's Hallmark raised $300 Saturday for Central Missouri Honor Flight, Tergin said.
Carrie's Hallmark has done this for the last few years. Tergin said she decided to keep the tradition going this year because people appreciate coming before the crowd and are happy to support a good cause.
More people are still shopping in person than online, but having an online option and curbside pickup has helped some local stores this year, including Carrie's Hallmark and Southbank Gift Company, which still has many customers ordering remotely and picking up the items.
Southbank Gift Company owner Jill Bednar said she thinks the number of sales this month has surpassed the numbers from the past two Decembers, and the store's half-off sale after Christmas brought many customers in over the weekend, with some waiting before the doors opened.
"We really appreciate the community's support and their desire to shop local," she said. "I feel like they really showed up, so I'm very grateful."
Because it now has a website and ships items, Southbank Gift has had customers from all across the United States ordering online.
"Online is a tiny percent, but those things probably factored in to help us have a good December," Bednar said.
Carrie's Hallmark has had an increase in curbside pickup and orders through email or Facebook Messenger. There were many customers shopping in the store and ordering online Saturday, making it difficult to keep up with all the orders, Tergin said.
"We're just so happy to see people shopping locally," she said.
Also downtown, American Shoe Store created an online option at the beginning of the year due to COVID-19. Many customers used it during the lockdown, but not many people still use this option because they prefer to try on the shoes before purchasing, sales associate Alissa Morton said.
Morton said American Shoe has been fortunate to have about as much business this holiday season and the day after Christmas as in previous years.
"We are very grateful for our local, loyal customers to shop business locally with us this year," she said. "We've been blessed."
Bednar said she wants to remind people they can continue to shop locally in a safe way by ordering online and doing curbside pickup or by wearing masks and social distancing.
"I want to thank everyone for their business and encourage them to keep it up," she said. "Keep shopping local and supporting your local community."
The Link LonkDecember 27, 2020 at 11:16AM
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Local businesses cite successful holiday season - Jefferson City News Tribune
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