In store, online or curbside, local retailers hope for your business

The final month of the calendar year is a time when many small business owners hope to squirrel away revenue that can sustain them until spring. At least, that’s what happens in a normal year. What has it been like for local retailers in 2020?

“It’s been… different,” said Dave Ayers who, along with his wife, Nicole, owns and operates Little Dog Paper on Main Street in Meredith.

Little Dog Paper started six years ago, with Nicole making greeting cards on their dining room table. They opened their storefront two years ago, adding quirky and humorous gifts and games to match the glib and sometimes crass tone of their cards.

Unsurprisingly, their third year in business began with a thud, as the pandemic forced them to close for about 10 weeks. When they re-opened in mid-May, Dave Ayers said, they found that they were one of the businesses whose products were in demand.

“Since people aren’t seeing each other, they’re sending more cards,” Ayers explained. The summer started a little slow, but things picked up by August as shoppers found ways to engage with their store that felt safe. Some were comfortable wearing a face mask inside the retail space, others responded to the sidewalk sales, while yet others ordered online for delivery or curbside pick-up.

Sandra Marshall executive director of the Meredith Area Chamber of Commerce, said that Little Dog’s experience this year was shared by a lot of other small retailers. Some didn’t fare as well, while others, such as hardware stores and marinas, had banner years.

“There wasn’t really a rhyme or reason to it, it was all over the place,” Marshall said. For those businesses who landed in the middle of the two extremes, the next two months could mean the difference between an OK year and a disaster. For retailers, a profitable holiday shopping season is critical if they’re going to survive the winter. But, as the state and country are seeing COVID-19 infection rates eclipse where they were in the spring, those retailers are wondering whether their usual holiday shoppers will appear.

“I think that they’re all hoping that it will be what it always is,” Marshall said. “Right now we’re seeing spikes and they’re a little nervous about how it's going to play out.”

Nerves aside, there’s reason to be hopeful, said Karmen Gifford, president of the Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce.

“We are excited about the season,” Gifford said. Her chamber found success with a “Catch the Glow” promotion that encouraged people to explore the Lakes Region’s autumnal offerings. It was so successful, in fact, that they’re reprising the effort with “Discover the Holiday Season in the Lakes Region” initiative.

“We’re definitely pushing the shop local, support our local communities (angle),” Gifford said. “I think we have a lot of unique shopping around, from the small mom and pop shops, and there’s a lot going on at the Tanger Outlets.”

There seems to be a heightened interest in items that reflect the Lakes Region and were made in New Hampshire, Gifford said, and shoppers are finding a way to engage with retailers to find those items.

“They’re out and about. They may not be congregating, but they’re out and about. You can go to a small shop, or to the outlet mall, and feel safe,” Gifford said. “People are still shopping, kids are still growing, people need new clothes.”

And if people don’t want to enter a retail space, they can still buy things from a local retailer. Many retailers, even the small and local ones, have invested in their online presence. Nervous shoppers can browse inventories online and arrange to pick up their purchases at the curb or have it delivered. Shopkeepers will be happy to accommodate such requests, GIfford said: “They’re there to service the customer.”

However they do it, Gifford urged local shoppers to do their holiday shopping locally.

“Just remember that at some of these places, it’s your neighbors that work there, and we want people to remain employed,” Gifford said. “Shop local, support your local economy… We have seen some businesses close, we want to come out of this stronger.”