If the economy is fixed, nobody told Columbus.
While shoppers have been kind to some downtown retailers, many continue to feel the effects of sluggish spending.
The prevalent theme among shoppers Saturday on Main Street, as the 2009 Columbus Arts and Preservation Forum Antiques Show and Sale continued around the corner at the Trotter Convention Center, was practicality. No expensive decorations. No unnecessary frills. Simply useful.
While looking at jewelry at The Purple Elephant, Kathryen Mathis Rooker expressed her plan to eliminate “the little things I want that I don”t need.”
“I guess I”ll just buy for other people,” she said.
Renee Perkerson, owner of Joy”s Flowers, gets that a lot lately. She says sales are down while window shopping is up.
“They”re looking but they”re not really buying. This year people are buying more gifts and not decorations,” she says.
That can be rough on a business like Perkerson”s, which specializes in custom decorations. In the meantime, she”s getting by with sales and specials.
“When anyone sees a sale I think that draws them in. It gets them in the store.”
But will they buy anything once they”re inside?
Lynn and Nell Gibson both said they”re sticking to the same budget as they did last holiday season as they browsed downtown Saturday. But this year they”re trying to stretch those budgets.
“We”re trying to take more advantage of sales. More useful items, as opposed to frivolous,” said Lynn Gibson.
They aren”t staying away from open houses, but they”re not necessarily spending money at them either.
Over at Wag pet store, Sierra Slatton was trying to do the same thing.
“I”m spending about the same, just more resourcefully. Catching things on sale,” she said.
Elizabeth Nickoles, manager of Wag, is used to hearing such plans. Despite healthy traffic Saturday during downtown open house promotions, she says most downtown stores have been hit hard by the economy, and sales only go so far.
“It”s to the point of, ”Can we put everything on sale?” This time of year last year was a whole lot better,” said Nickoles.
Lauren Stokes, manager of Gumdrop Upholstery, is on the same page. She says specials have yet to provide the lift the store needs, so they”re trying to work with each and every customer.
“We”re willing to make a deal,” said Stokes.
Like Joy”s Flowers” decorations, Gumdrop makes much of its money from custom sewing. But whereas the store is usually booked through January at this point, it”s just trying to make it through Christmas.
Still, Stokes understands most shops are hurting.
“I don”t think we”re taking it personally,” she said.
LuLu Brock, of Chattanooga, Tenn., is one of the customers not buying any extras. While looking through Gumdrop Saturday, Brock said she”s staying away from decorations while looking for smaller, more inexpensive gifts.
Next door at Charles O. Perkins” custom frame shop, sales are surprisingly regular. Nancy Perkins says the store is doing about the same amount of business it was this time last year, but it”s too early to call it a successful holiday season just yet.
“I don”t think the economy is starting to pick up. It seems like we”re doing better today because people are coming in. That”s more the problem, is getting people to come in,” said Perkins.
During festivals and events like the antique show, Perkins” sees a rise in foot traffic. Which is ironic because several customers to their store Saturday didn”t know the antique show was taking place.
Columbus is following a national trend. The National Retail Federation is predicting holiday retail industry sales to decline 1 percent this year, compared to a ten-year average of 3.39 percent holiday season growth. Even so, “the decline is not expected to be as dramatic as last year”s 3.4 percent drop in holiday retail sales nor as severe as the 3.0 percent decline in annual retail industry sales expected for all of 2009,” the federation said in a release.
Back at The Purple Elephant, things are going unexpectedly well. Sales associate Geraldine Coleman says weekend sales have almost doubled from this time last year. Plus, the store never experienced a noticeable dip in holiday sales.
“Last year was just as good as the year before and this year is starting off even better,” said Coleman.
Brenda Porter, owner of Fine Consign and More, is another of the few businesses doing well downtown. She says her sales are up, but that may be due to her merchandise.
“My store is a little different. I try to keep the savings for the customer. Times are tough and people don”t want to spend a lot of money,” said Porter.
Her less expensive items are selling well, but she says pricier antiques are selling as well. But again, the items have to be useful.
“People don”t want to spend money on decorations,” said Porter.
The same may be true of decorations in Starkville, but the overall atmosphere is different.
Four of five businesses contacted reported a rise in sales over last year or breaking even. One store, Polka Tots, reported its sales as only “marginally down.”
Dandy Doodlez reported a three percent rise in sales while Golden Triangle Fabric Center owner Everlyn Johnson had the best August and September sales in her five years of business.
Johnson says the rise is likely due to the do-it-yourself nature of many of her products. After figuring her sales tax, she expects October to be just as successful.
Betty Dean, owner of the Fashion Accent, has kept her sales even through marketing strategies, but expects a jump when the holiday season reaches full swing.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
