2019 has a shorter holiday shopping season. What will it mean for local retailers?
With plenty of competition from online shopping websites, local retailers also have one other thing to worry about this holiday shopping season — the calendar.
For those who start the holiday shopping season on Black Friday, they have a little over three weeks to get their list squared away before Christmas. That’s six fewer days than last year and the shorter shopping window can lead to some challenges for Whatcom County retailers.
The fewer days mean each one is important to determining whether it will be a profitable year. Even a short stretch of icy, snowy weather could derail brick-and-mortar sales and drive up online orders.
For these local retailers, there is some reason for optimism. In its 2019 holiday retail survey, Washington State University’s Carson College of Business found that 43% plan to do most or all of their shopping in-store. Most of the Pacific Northwest consumers surveyed are doing at least some of their shopping in stores but supplementing with online orders.
However 76% of those surveyed also said they will check out the deals online during Cyber Monday on Dec. 2. One national survey indicate that this might be the first year consumers do more shopping online than in physical stores.
WSU’s survey also noted that Thanksgiving/Black Friday continues to fade as a shopping event. Only 26% are planning to shop on Thanksgiving, and most of those intended shoppers (57%) will only do it online that day. As a result several stores are not opening on Thanksgiving. Outdoor retailer REI is continuing its tradition of being closed on Black Friday as well, encouraging its customers to #OptOutside and hosting cleanup events nationwide.
In order to compete with online, some local retailers are stocking the shelves with unique items that are hard to find on websites. It’s something BreAnne Green, co-owner of Greenhouse, had in mind when she began planning this holiday season in January. She noted that her customers want more of an experience, shopping for things they can look at closely and hold.
Green said she was optimistic in her ordering, buying more inventory than the previous year.
Tina Anderson has noticed the difference between her two stores, Fairhaven Toy Garden and Bay to Baker Trading Company. The toy store had a strong summer, but slowed down in November as online deals for the same products started ratcheting up. At Bay to Baker, which sells a lot of local products that highlight Bellingham, Whatcom County and the Pacific Northwest, sales are up in November compared to last year.
“It’s nice that we have customers with the mindset to shop locally,” but each year it gets more challenging as more are finding online shopping more convenient, Anderson said. While concerned about the slow month at the toy store, she’s still hopeful for a strong season once it gets into full swing.
Local retailers
Some local retailers decided to work the calendar in their favor and have found some success. Green, co-owner of Greenhouse, decided to kick off the holiday season with an open house on Nov. 7, more than three weeks before Black Friday. That turned out to be a hit from a sales standpoint, and she said the store has seen strong sales leading up to Thanksgiving weekend.
One possible reason for the strong early start is that people are currently shopping for themselves, particularly home decor things in preparation for hosting holiday parties. She expects a shift to gift-buying for others in the coming four weeks.
Other retailers are experiencing a more subdued period shopping-wise, which also fits with local trends. Over the years many local retailers point to the weekend before Christmas as the busiest in terms of sales.
National surveys indicate holiday spending will be up this year. The National Retail Federation forecast has the increase in the 3.8% to 4.2% range. Over the past five years, the annual increase has averaged 3.7%.
Fun personal experiences remain a key strategy for brick-and-mortar stores, so there are plenty of events planned after Thanksgiving. That includes Santa appearances throughout the county, tree lighting ceremonies, Winterfest events in Fairhaven and Small Business Saturday on Nov. 30.
Events like Fairhaven’s Winterfest are important for retailers, Anderson said, noting it really gets people into the holiday spirit.
Holiday deals
For those looking for bargains, shoppers have learned that deals can be found throughout the holiday season, particularly online. Black Friday is still one of those times for bargains, and a WalletHub study found there will be some deep discounts on Nov. 29.
According to the study, several companies that have stores in Whatcom County made its top 10 list of retailers offering the biggest discounts. Those stores are JC Penney (with an average discount of about 61%), Kohl’s (57.1% average discount), Dick’s Sporting Goods (52.3% average discount) and Fred Meyer (47.1% average discount).
WalletHub came up with its findings by looking at nearly 8,000 deals on Black Friday advertisements.
