While many shoppers were up before the sun Friday in order to
get the best deals on the season’s most coveted items, Hollister’s
downtown merchants are hoping the day after one of the biggest
shopping days of the year lands them firmly in the black.
Hollister – While many shoppers were up before the sun Friday in order to get the best deals on the season’s most coveted items, Hollister’s downtown merchants are hoping the day after one of the biggest shopping days of the year lands them firmly in the black.
The day known as Black Friday, when stores traditionally increase their revenues significantly, had a multitude of residents working off their turkey dinners while partaking in the post-Thanksgiving consumer frenzy. But for some downtown merchants, Saturday has become a bigger day to rake in the money thanks to the Lights On Celebration and parade.
“Absolutely without a doubt people run to the malls today (Friday),” said Sheila Stevens, president of the Hollister Downtown Association and owner of She’s clothing store. “The big day is Saturday. We all do fine Friday, but people are drawn down here Saturday.”
While some residents may overlook the downtown Friday and instead peruse its shops Saturday, Kelly’s Gift Place owner Kelly Owczarzak wasn’t content to wait. Owczarzak opened her doors at 5am. She sent out personal invitations to customers on her mailing list inviting them to be at the store early, and offered up to a 60 percent discount the first hour if people arrived dressed in sleepware.
To her surprise, people had lined up around the block starting around 4:15am in their pajamas and slippers – waiting to get a head start on their holiday shopping. And thanks to the hard work and very early morning, Owczarzak said by late afternoon Friday she’d already pulled in five or six times what the store does on a normal Friday.
“We had a phenomenal response,” she said. “This has been the best year we’ve ever had. We’re on our knees thanking the Lord.”
Owczarzak hopes to start talking to other downtown business owners now to make a plan for next Black Friday to collectively entice more people to come downtown instead of making the early-morning shopping trips to Target or the Gilroy outlets, she said.
“The downtown has to grow,” she said. “We’ve all got to shine.”
Across the country, people were up before dawn ready to shop, however analysts say the day after Thanksgiving isn’t the biggest shopping day of the year anymore. Although it kicks off the holiday shopping season, last year Dec. 18 – a week before Christmas – took the honors, according to the Associated Press. Still, executives say that the day after Thanksgiving sets an important tone for the rest of the shopping season, according to the AP.
Whether it’s Black Friday or Christmas Eve, drawing people downtown to do their holiday shopping instead of spending their hard-earned cash at stores like Target is one of local merchants’ never-ending dilemmas. Holiday shopper Scott Garrett, who was spending his Black Friday at the Hollister Target, said he chooses not to shop in downtown Hollister because the stores don’t have the products or the prices that larger retail stores have to offer, he said.
“I’ve looked at every store and Target has the best deals and the best Christmas stuff,” Garrett said, while pushing a cart filled with holiday decorations to his car.
Local resident Colleen Sheperd and her husband braved the crowds at Target on Friday just to drop off some film, but ended taking home a cart-load of Christmas gifts. However, Sheperd said she does plan to shop downtown this year, simply to cut down on some holiday stress.
“I don’t like the freeways,” she said. “They’re nuts.”
Stevens said downtown merchants realize that many people will hit up the big box stores, Gilroy outlets or avoid leaving the home entirely and shop online – which is why most business owners downtown find niche markets to pull in their holiday revenue.
“I don’t worry about (the Internet) because there’s nothing I can do about it,” Stevens said. “There’s more personal service (downtown). We take care of our customers.”
Owczarzak agreed, saying that the downtown’s strengths lie in the owner’s customer service.
“The best thing to do is get to know the folks who shop with you,” she said. “Customer service is No. 1, it really is. That’s what you really miss out on when you go to the bigger stores or on the Internet.”
