Local retailers say shoppers looking for practical this year

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 2, 2009

By Sarah Nagem
snagem@salisburypost.com
You probably won’t get a Chia Pet or a snow globe for Christmas this year.
For that, you can thank the slumping economy.
This holiday season, shoppers are looking for more useful gifts, some local business owners say.
“We noticed the little knickknack stuff has not sold as well,” said Sherry Lowery, manager at the Stitchin’ Post on Main Street.
Despite the sour economic times, local businesses say they are optimistic about the holiday season.
But many shoppers will surely keep their spending in check.
“I’ll probably be buying the same amount of gifts, just not spending as much on each one,” Anita Felts of China Grove said Tuesday during a shopping trip to downtown Salisbury.
Anna Holman of Salisbury was shopping with her daughter at Queen’s Gifts Tuesday afternoon.
Her family uses a budget system for holiday presents, Holman said. She spends a certain amount of money on gifts.
“We’ll stick closer to it this year than we ever have,” Holman said of her budget.
Holiday shopping is crucial for small businesses. Caniche on Main Street generates about 40 percent of its annual revenue during the Christmas season, co-owner Lesleigh Drye said.
So far, sales are down a bit, Drye said. But it’s too early to panic.
“I’m just not worried yet,” Drye said.
At the Stitchin’ Post, Lowery said, more and more customers are passing up the non-essentials and sticking to handbags, jewelry and clothes.
People realize that giving a Christmas decoration as a gift warrants a use period of only a couple of weeks or so, Lowery said.
But socks ó well, they can last much longer.
Lowery said customers seem interested in items whose proceeds benefit a charity.
The $69 sweater wraps that benefit Burmese refugees in Thailand have been a popular item, she said.
“We sold every single one of them,” Lowery said.
So far, she said, sales at the Stitchin’ Post are up to par.
Lowery said local small businesses might have an advantage this year.
“I think (shoppers) are sticking close to home instead of going to Concord Mills or South Park,” she said.
Holman said she likes the unique items and the personal touch at Queen’s.
But she ventures to the malls to buy clothes for her two daughters.
“I think when you’re from a small town and you shop in stores like (Queen’s), you get to know the people and they get to know you,” Holman said. “It’s just a comfortable feeling.”
Jane Crosby, who owns Queen’s, said she will remain upbeat about holiday sales.
She said shoppers have been so focused on other issues, like the recent elections and the sluggish economy, that they haven’t had to time to think about shopping.
The holiday rush will probably come late, she said, but she’s confident it will come.
For stores like Queen’s, the effects of practical gift-giving are yet to be seen.
“I’m not a store of necessities,” she said.
Bernhardt Hardware on Main Street has lots of necessities, and owner Paul Bernhardt said they are selling well.
So far, customers are picking up electric heaters and passing on the kerosene heaters, he said.
The price of kerosene has gone up, Bernhardt said.
“I just think people are going to be cautious and buy items that people need,” he said.
Crosby said one thing is for sure: Small businesses need support this year more than ever.