By Briana Vannozzi
Correspondent
With big box retailers opening their doors earlier and earlier to cash in on the holiday shopping frenzy, local businesses are hoping customers will trade in the crowds for a more “crowd-pleasing” experience.
When asked how she competes when Black Friday doesn’t start on Black Friday any more, The Paint Tube owner Sheri Hefler said, “It’s really difficult. We’re trying to stay above board.”
Mom and pop shops in Englewood are banding together to promote “Shop Small Weekend,” a spin-off of the Small Business Saturday initiative started four years ago to encourage people to support local brick and mortar stores.
Hefler has been in business for 42 years. She says on what is typically the busiest day, foot traffic is down.
“Unfortunately the internet has really killed the mom and pop store business. I’ve had a website for 18 years and we do fine, but we still want people to shop local,” she said.
“The past couple of years even more so this year the Black Friday sales really are starting before Thanksgiving,” said Erez Clothing owner Amy Klein.
At Erez Clothing just down the street, Klein says they’ve had to get innovative to keep up with national retail chains.
“We definitely use social media. That is the way of retail these days, reaching our customers,” she said.
It’s still too early to tell, but the National Retail Federation anticipates about $13 billion will be spent by consumers on Black Friday alone. That’s up 1.6 percent from 2013. Yet out of that, only a fifth of likely Saturday shoppers say they’ll head to a local business.
“We’re very disappointed about stores that open on Thanksgiving. A lot of people share that sentiment and hopefully they don’t go shopping and perhaps the stores will take that message and not open next year on Thanksgiving Day,” said Portage and the Jewelry Box owner Patrice Turkell.
Turkell says they’ll stand firm keeping the business closed on Thanksgiving Day.
When asked if he thinks it will take business away, Turkell said, “I’m sure it might take some business away, but I feel people are really shopping for the big ticket items — the TVs, the specials, the computers — things that you can’t find in our store.”
“I won’t even go to a mall. I won’t go near a mall on Black Friday,” said Englewood resident Sharon Leshetz.
Business owners tell us shopping local not only helps to boost the economy, but also preserves the community because that money spent in their store may then go toward buying lunch in town, paying rent or hiring another employee.
“If, you know, the stores aren’t rented then you don’t have the tax base and the town doesn’t survive,” said Englewood Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Carol Rauscher.
Englewood’s Chamber of Commerce says it’s been a tough few years for small business owners, not just in Bergen County but around the state. So, they’re pulling out all the stops and hoping a more intimate experience will mean more incentive to shop.