Chamber officials, Tri-City retailers remind shoppers to think local

Locally-owned Tri-City retailers hope shoppers will “think small” when picking out their holiday gifts this year.

“We expect a really great holiday season. Retail is up about three percent nationwide, so it’s doing well. People are spending more money in shops and definitely supporting small business,” said Joy Slone, owner of Ariel Gourmet & Gifts.

[blockquote quote="Every year, on Small Business Saturday, we’ve almost doubled our sales." source="Joy Slone, owner of Ariel Gourmet & Gifts" align="right" max_width="300px"]

The small business at 617 The Parkway in Richland, has been open for the past 40 years. It hopes to entice shoppers inside its doors during a nationwide promotional event called Small Business Saturday by offering a holiday open house and storewide sales.

Many shops offer sales and specials in tandem with the Nov. 25 event on the day after Black Friday, the traditional kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. Small Business Saturday was created by American Express in 2010 to support small businesses.

“Every year, on Small Business Saturday, we’ve almost doubled our sales. We have a very loyal customer base and following,” Slone said. “I think more and more people are learning about the event and joining in.”

The Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce also backs it, issuing a statement recognizing “the importance of supporting small businesses, due to the jobs they help create and the culture they instill in local communities.”

Five employees work at Ariel’s, which sells quality cookware, housewares, trendy kitchen gadgets, unique gifts, gourmet and local foods, and more.

“We aren’t hiring this year (for the holiday season) because we have plenty of help at this point,” Slone said. “We’ve brought in many new things this year – too many to list. There are some very cool items that I guarantee you won’t find anywhere else,” she said.

Slone plans to have three or four employees working on Small Business Saturday, and the store offers free gift wrapping with in-store purchases.

“I think we may be one of the last shops to offer free gift wrapping year-round,” she said.

The increase in retail foot traffic over the holidays also offers opportunities for area job seekers. More than 500 retail jobs were listed on WorkSourceWA.com for the Tri-City area in early November.

“With more residents employed than ever before and a greater share of consumers expecting their incomes to rise, the outlook for holiday sales and hiring in general is strong,” said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee in a statement.

Washington retail employers hired 12,500 additional workers during last year’s fourth quarter, when holiday shopping was in full swing.

Holiday shoppers helped boost the state’s taxable retail sales by 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter over the same period in 2015, reaching $38.2 billion, according to the state Department of Revenue.

Employment Security Department economists say the bulk of seasonal hiring in 2017 will be in general merchandise stores, adding 7,524 jobs, up 998 positions from the same period last year. Clothing and clothing-accessory stores expect to hire 3,320 holiday workers, up 343 workers from 2016.

The holiday retail hiring forecast for Benton and Franklin counties is for an additional 306 workers.

Columbia Center mall in Kennewick expects to more than triple that amount.

“We anticipate our retailers hiring 1,000 new team members across part-time and full-time roles to assist with the bustling holiday shopping season,” said Meredith Reed, Columbia Center’s director of marketing and business development.

In anticipation of the holiday season, Columbia Center added several specialty gift retailers.

“Shoppers can now shop at See’s Candies, Hickory Farms and Go! Games and Calendars for fabulous host gift ideas, stocking stuffers and all the loved ones on our lists this year,” Reed said.

The newest additions at Columbia Center includes Build-a-Bear Workshop, which opened in July, where children can assemble their own stuffed animal.

Sprint opened in late September, and Sbarros, a nationwide pizzeria, will open in the food court in mid-December.

“The economy in the Tri-Cities is very healthy, and with the mix of new retailers, we expect this to be a great holiday season. The holiday shopping season brings a festive and robust atmosphere to Columbia Center mall,” Reed said. “While the shopping process has become more complex, we hold a tangible and experiential advantage by providing our guests what they want, where they want it, when they want it, whether it’s for holiday shopping, dining or entertainment.”

Because Christmas falls 32 days after Thanksgiving this year (one day more than last year), and is on a Monday instead of Sunday, shoppers will have an extra weekend of shopping.

“We expect Saturday, Dec. 23, to be one of the busiest shopping days of the year,” Reed said.

The International Council of Shopping Centers, or ICSC, forecasts a 3.8 percent year-over-year growth nationwide in retail sales this holiday season. Consumers are expected to spend on average $728 on gifts and other holiday-related items.

“The ICSC holiday findings illustrate that consumers are incredibly optimistic this holiday season,” Reed said. “We’re thrilled that physical retail remains a cornerstone of the holiday season.”

The ICSC also projects:

• 96 percent of shoppers plan to make a purchase from a retailer who has a physical and an online presence, with 91 percent of shoppers buying at physical locations.
• Forty percent of holiday shoppers will buy online, then pick up items in-store, and 81 percent plan to make additional purchases when collecting their item.
• 92 percent of millennials will spend money in a physical store this holiday season, and more than any other age group, 57 percent of millennials plan to take advantage of discounts on black Friday.
• Consumers plan on heading to shopping centers for more than purchasing gifts. More than 80 percent of shoppers will visit a shopping center to eat out, catch a movie and attend a philanthropic or holiday event.

To learn more about Small Business Saturday, visit ShopSmall.com.