Is The Fun Ever Coming Back To Holiday Shopping?
In terms of sales, last year was a much better holiday than most predicted. Tepid expectations for the season gave way to 8.3% growth, according to the National Retail Federation. But it wasn’t a particularly joyous season, with many concerned for the health and safety of their families as the pandemic raged across the U.S., and the world waited for vaccines to become available. Shoppers stayed home in large droves, buying holiday gifts online instead, and retailers tried to encourage safe buying behavior through curbside pick-up options and other conveniently distanced methods of purchasing. Retailers reimagined traditional holiday activities virtually, and customers accepted things were going to be a bit different than usual. Read more at Retail Dive.
Everything that ever seems to be published by self proclaimed “retail experts” is all about the mind-numbing idiocy that national chains, big box crap and internet “convenience” that has ruined the pleasure of shopping for a gift. Virtually never is the article about the joy of finding something special at an independent store, which is the ONLY haven for such experiences. Where the help is glad to see you, and where that help actually knows what they are talking about. Earth of the season, NOT the hell of going out because you gotta get something, ANYTHING, for Dad.
It has all been foisted on America: Commodities for Christmas.
What I know includes this: My stores are experiencing a solid year. Some months best in decades. Everyone that is IN my store tells me why they come to us, and that they HATE shopping in malls or on line. They don’t represent the vast majority out there, but the satisfaction I get from actually helping people get something that they feel happy about because their recipient will LOVE it is what it’s all about. I think we’re going to have a great season. And I know that shopping HERE will be a happy experience for as many as we can serve.
All any shopper has to do is remember that there is a better way. The joy is where it has always been. When pundits start sounding like THIS, I’ll pay attention to their advice. It has been decades since I’ve considered my competition to be other locally owned retailers, and I never say a bad word about ANY indie operation. I’m forever pissed off by the way national has destroyed joy for so many, year round, in the realm of retail.