Downtown retailers mostly pleased with holiday shopping season
Toolbox
By SARAH HINCKLEY Staff Writer - Published: January 4, 2009
MONTPELIER – Most local merchants admit they hadn't been expecting much in the way of sales this holiday season.
Shop owners were bracing for a serious slump because of the sour economy, but the shop local initiative left many merchants pleasantly surprised.
The season for most was like a long, slow burn: The Thanksgiving holiday brought people out, but many weren't ready to commit until closer to the holiday. At Salaam Boutique in Montpelier, business was very slow at the end of November and into mid-December, according to Marlee Brunton, an employee.
"Toward the end of the month, sales really sky-rocketed," she said about December. "We were just a little bit off from last year. … People were shopping local and it was surprisingly busy."
According to retail workers in Montpelier and in Barre, many shoppers waited until the last minute to get their gifts, which made for a busy couple of days right before Dec. 25. There were a few theories – people may have been holding out for sales or their holiday bonus checks.
"I just think it took awhile to get into the holiday spirit this year," said Kate Belcher, an employee of the Shoe Horn on Langdon Street in Montpelier, which expanded its space and stock this fall.
"You could see it – everybody shopping local – the streets of Montpelier on Christmas Eve were hopping," said Marin Bowman who manages The Men's Store. "It was great."
This was the first holiday season for the store that specializes in men's fashion on State Street.
"I think the word caught on pretty quickly – for women and men," said Raina Lowell, who also manages the store.
Merchants heard over and over from customers that they wanted to keep their money in the community. However, that didn't necessarily mean higher sales.
"We were definitely down from last year," said Michelle Heath, an employee of the Vermont Trading Company in Montpelier. "I think everyone was."
The snowstorm that hit the region the weekend before Christmas may also have had an effect.
"I can't decide if the snow worked for us or against us," said Kevin Brown, who manages Buch Spieler Music on Langdon Street in Montpelier. "Our expectations were lowered, but it was busy. … People use us at Christmas time to export Vermont music. That's buying local and taking it to another level, I guess."
For Exile on Main Street, a music store in downtown Barre, the snowstorm was a show stopper. Business had been really good until then, according to Sandy Thurston, who owns the store with her husband Michael.
"I've got such loyal customers," she said. "They'll pay more to get it here."
Though Grace Gilbert, owner of Global Gifts in Montpelier, didn't really have high hopes for the holidays, she fared well.
"It went better than I had expected," she said. "I had prepared for the worst and was pleasantly surprised."
As with Thurston, Gilbert attributes the success of the season to loyal, local shoppers.
"An enormous thank you to all of those people who did shop locally," said Gilbert. "It is because of people like that that we're still in business. … We really appreciate it."
One downtown Montpelier merchant said the season seemed unusual as compared to most.
"It was different, the dynamics with the way people were shopping was different," said Susan Lawrence, owner of Phoenix Rising on State Street. "We had good days and we had bad days. The bad days were impacted by the weather. … I'm not sure, but I think we had a record-breaking Christmas Eve."
Katy Kennedy, who is an assistant manager at Lenny's Shoe and Apparel in Barre, noticed people not only waiting until the last minute, but also making a point of using cash.
"I saw a lot more cash flow than people using their credit cards," said Kennedy who has been at the store for five years.
There were a number of holiday sales at the Main Street store that drew shoppers and Kennedy felt pre-Christmas traffic was higher than last year.
"We were astonished at how busy we were," she said. "I think people were waiting until the last minute."
Many merchants are banking on customers spending with gift cards in hand in the weeks to come.
Contact Sarah Hinckley at sarah.hinckley@timesargus.com.
42