NEWS

Local businesses hosting smaller-scale Black Friday

Craig Shoup, and Jon Stinchcomb
Port Clinton News Herald

PORT CLINTON - While the big box stores are prepping for thousands of shoppers to come through the doors this Black Friday, small local businesses are working on a much smaller scale.

With major chains such as Wal-Mart and Staples offering huge markdowns and deep discounts, at times as high as 70 to 90 percent off big ticket items like televisions, those are the sort of sales that hard for locally-owned small businesses to match.

Efforts such as "Small Business Saturday," however, are still seeking to promote shopping local and supporting small businesses by utilizing the day after Black Friday, including many in Port Clinton.

Lilly & Gert's, a vintage shop selling hand-made gifts and home decor from all kinds of re-purposed items, will be open on both Friday and Saturday, and will be offering free gift wrap during the holiday season.

Dina Rodgers, owner of Lilly & Gert's, said she will keep the shop open even past their posted hours, if costumers are coming in regularly, but in past years the first Saturday following Thanksgiving hasn't been particularly busy.

Rodgers will be taking advantage of the holiday weekend for a family get-together with her sisters crafting in the shop while it's open during Small Business Saturday.

"If it's busy, great," Rodgers said. "But if it's not, at least we're making stuff."

Matt Kohler, co-owner of Veh and Son Furniture in Gibsonburg, said older shoppers who are not looking for the early morning doorbusters and fighting for products tend to shop local.

"I believe as consumers mature, shopping local becomes more important and they want to buy something from someone they know," Kohler said.

Veh and Son is a local store that offers deals during the last two weeks of November instead of early morning Black Friday weekend specials.

"We keep our inventory robust and have extras on hand, but there is no specific deadline for deals. We like to sustain business, and not rely on a two-hour sale," Kohler said.

While shopping locally, consumers can expect sales on La-Z-Boy recliners, curio cabinets and home office furniture.

"Our biggest seller this time of year are actually sofas," Kohler said. "They are for Christmas because people are entertaining and want to rehab their whole living room."

Meanwhile, the big box stores are gearing up for the thousands of local shoppers getting ready for a mad dash toward Black Friday sales during the biggest shopping days of the year.

Starting Thanksgiving night, retailers will unveil a host of doorbuster deals that mean big savings on TVs, appliances, clothing and toys.

"We'll double what we normally do over the weekend. We will have 5,000-plus shoppers through the weekend," said Fremont Wal-Mart store manager Rob Hershey.

Wal-Mart won't be the only busy store during the holiday shopping spree as Staples manager Jill Keegan expects to triple the amount of people this weekend than the store normally sees.

"We will probably see 1,000 people this weekend," Keegan said. "We open 6 a.m. on Friday and will be handing out tickets for our doorbusters."

Similar to the ticket system, Wal-Mart passes out wristbands to people lined up for the products with the biggest savings.

Hershey said anyone who gets a wristband will get the product they came for. For both Staples and Wal-Mart, the products must be bought that day.

Keegan and Hershey said the use of tickets and wristbands allows for a safer shopping experience, with former scenarios of stampeding hordes being replaced by lines where people know they will get what they came to buy.

"We've gotten better at it over the years. We use the produce section for lines because there is a lot of space," Hershey said.

While electronics are still a popular item for Black Friday shoppers, Hershey said small items are also popular for presents and upgrades in everyday use.

"Apple products are popular, anything smart (TVs and phones), but we see a lot sheets, kitchen utensils and sweepers sold," Hershey said.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates 135.9 million shoppers will shop over the Thanksgiving weekend, with many already putting a dent on their shopping through online deals.

This year, the NRF expects a big boom in sales as it projects an increase for November and December of 3.7 percent, to $630.5 billion in sales, a significant jump from the 10-year average of 2.5 percent.

Holiday sales are expected to represent about 19 percent of the retails industry's annual sales figures of $3.2 trillion, the NRF website said.

The Ohio Council of Retail Merchants forecast holiday sales to be 4.2 percent higher statewide compared to last year's sales figures.