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It may not get as much attention as Black Friday shoppers flocking to Walmart, but local business owners say Midcoast retailers kicked off the holiday shopping season strong. Thanks to the conscious consumer.
Stores like Maine’s Brunswick’s Hatch saw significant sales this weekend when Black Friday and Small Business Saturday deals lured gift buyers from the post-Thanksgiving stupor to downtown Midcoast. Recorded.
Dastan Larsen, co-owner of the boutique and its sister store Hutch Home, said: “The store was busy all day.”
According to the National Retail Federation, nationwide November and December retail spending has consistently increased over the past decade. While this winter is likely to hit record highs, inflation could slow spending growth, the organization warned, to make up for the quiet months in the second half of the winter. is a challenge for Hutch and many other small businesses that rely on the busy holiday season. .
Business groups such as Main Street Baths and the Brunswick Downtown Association are turning to community events such as Bright Night Baths and Brunswick’s Early Bird Sale to provide a lifeline to retailers and restaurants during difficult times beyond March 2020 It has re-attracted the local shoppers who used to.
“I think this community has proven itself in terms of local support during the pandemic,” said Deborah King, president of the Brunswick Downtown Association. , if you don’t support local businesses, they won’t support you later.”
Mike Fear, co-owner of Now You’re Cooking in Bath, said the strong relationship between businesses and consumers built over years and tested during the pandemic benefits both sides. I was.
The store, which accounted for about 40% of annual sales in October, November and December, is on track to match the record highs of 2020 and 2021, he said. Supply Business is stable because customers trust Now You’re Cooking to charge a fair price, despite price increases caused by his chain.
“If we get a good deal, we pass it on to the customer,” says Fear. “They take care of us and we try to take care of them as well.”
Upcoming events, such as Freeport’s annual Sparkle Celebration and Old-Fashioned Christmas on the Bus, will give residents special incentives to visit downtown Midcoast and the storefronts that line it, as well as ‘Buy Brunswick’ gifts in Downtown Brunswick. Multi-purpose gift certificates, like cards, make it easy. shop locally.
Supporting a small Midcoast business may take a little more work than visiting a major online retailer, but King says the effort pays off big for the community.
“Amazon’s call center representatives don’t do a little happy dance when they get a lot of orders,” she said. “But I can guarantee that it puts a smile on the faces of the people who own the (local) business and their staff.”
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