Posted: Saturday, November 29, 2008 12:00 am
Shoppers keeping it local and frugal this holiday season
By BENNETT HALL
Gazette-Times reporter
As a line of shoppers brought their purchases to the cash register at The Inkwell, Tricia Leman hung back, browsing thoughtfully through a selection of Christmas beads.
Like many Americans, she's cutting back on her holiday spending this year.
"I've already pre-warned my children," Leman said. "Things are definitely tighter this year."
The financial shocks that have roiled the U.S. economy haven't impacted her household yet, but the Corvallis resident is reining in her expenses just in case things take a turn for the worse.
"We have a job now, and, hopefully, six months from now we'll still be working, but you've got to take that into consideration," Leman said. "Every day you read about the layoffs."
Up and down Third Street in downtown Corvallis, the holiday bargain hunters were out in force for Black Friday, the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season, a make-or-break period for many merchants. The day got its name from retailers who hope that brisk holiday buying kick-starts their sales figures for 2009 into the profit margin column - the black.
But although the numbers of shoppers who turned out Friday might have raised merchants' hopes, not all who came were buying.
"I've made, like, three sales," said Doug DeCarolis, owner of Happy Trails Records. "With all of the economic disasters that have happened, business just took a dive from what it had been."
Retail sales across the country are starting slowly this year as the economy continues to contract. After four straight years of steady growth, sales at general-merchandise stores were up just 2.1 percent during the 2007 holiday season, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. This year's forecast calls for the slowdown to continue, with a projected increase of just 1.4 percent.
A lack of consumer confidence is a big reason for the retail downturn.
"I'm worried. I think everybody's worried," said Linda Waymire of Philomath, shopping for clothes Friday at the Golden Crane.
"It's not clear what's going to happen," added her husband, Ed. "All those buyouts are a little scary."
The couple said they'd likely scale back their shopping a bit this year.
But they are still shopping, and that makes a big difference to people like Rhetta Lemoine, a sales clerk at the Golden Crane.
"We've gotten a lot of good responses from our customers," she said, "saying they're trying to shop locally as much as possible."
While national chains such as Kmart enticed consumers with special sales and predawn opening times, local retailers looked for other ways to claim their share of holiday shopping dollars.
Urban Minx Boutique, for instance, was offering a 20 percent discount on everything in the store. Manager Cara Sherris said her customers are "feeling the pinch" and are looking for incentives to buy non-necessities.
"We've been really busy," she said. "I think that 20 percent is just the push people need right now."
Across the street, the gk1 boutique cut its prices in half to woo consumers.
"We're doing a pre-holiday sale to get people in the mood to buy," said co-owner Grace Adkinson Spencer. "Without a discount, it seems like nobody wants to part with their money right now."
The Mac Store tried a different tack, offering customers everything from mail-in rebates to free hard drives, laptop cases and printers with the purchase of a new computer.
Manager Ryan Steckly said that approach appeared to be getting people in the door, but spending seemed a bit muted so far this year.
"They're holding back a little bit," Steckly said, "not getting those extra accessories."
Gracewinds Music, with a "minimum advertised price" policy on many of its musical instruments, doesn't have the ability to offer many discounts, said co-owner Sharon Oefelein. But a number of manufacturers are offering rebates and financing options this year, and customers seem to be responding favorably.
"So far it's been going fairly well, but I'm nervous. We're stocked and ready, but whether we've made the right choices or not remains to be seen," Oefelein said.
"I think everybody's holding their breath."
Karla Garrett may be just the kind of customer she's been waiting for.
Garrett, a salon owner from Philomath, was out shopping Friday with her 9-year-old son, Marshall, and stopped into Gracewinds to pick up a few things.
Unlike some people, Garrett said she has no plans to cut back on her holiday spending this year.
"The economy hasn't really affected me, so I keep it going," she said, twirling a shiny Christmas tree ornament in the shape of a drum set.
"I'm trying to keep it local, though. I'm trying to buy local stuff to keep our economy going."
Bennett Hall can be reached at 758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net.