Wins for MSU mean wins for retailers
Main Street retailers report better sales during football season, especially after a winning game.
BY SARAH RAINES life@starkvilledailynews.com
Starkville boutiques thrive with the foot traffic brought in by Mississippi State University’s football season. As a result, sales reports correlate with morale and win/loss records faced by the team.
Carolyn Abadie has managed the Book Mart & Cafe for 10 years and said sales and foot traffic in days following a game day usually depend on the outcome of the game. With the scores up this year, most shops on Main Street reported better sales.
“When we win, we always have a more profitable season,” Abadie said. “We always like to see the Bulldogs doing well and I think everybody downtown enjoys seeing them do well.”
During Bulldog Brunch and Browse — the Greater Starkville Development Partnership’s event hosted each Sunday after a home game that allows shopping during special hours — Abadie said she can usually tell how people feel based on how the game was.
“People are always happy when we win and not so much when we lose, but they’re still supportive of the team,” Abadie said. “We’ve seen that for many years — the economic impact of a winning or losing season.”
R. Tabb & Co. boutique and gifts recently moved from 210 East Main St. to 201 East Main St. and owner Rebecca Tabb said said game day traffic has been better this year than last. Tabb has seen an influence on sales not only from the game’s outcome but also from game times.
“This season as a whole with who we’re playing and the times we are playing is better and I feel like we’ve just had a better team and a better season,” Tabb said. “Last year we had a lot of Thursday night games, which (Photo by Sarah Raines, SDN) JCG Apparel sales associate Macon Murff flips through one of the store’s most popular shirt designs. (Photo by Sarah Raines, SDN)
really hurt that weekend traffic the boutiques cater to. We need those out-of-town people to come on the weekends.”
Tabb said Thursday night games don’t give people an opportunity to stay for the weekend, but with more weekend games this year there has been a larger turnout. After winning the game this past weekend against Texas A&M, Tabb anticipates a higher turnout for this upcoming weekend’s game against the University of Massachusetts, even though it isn’t a rivalry or conference game.
Swanky B. Boutique owner Vanesha Williams said sales for her store spike during
SEC home games. So far this season, the biggest sales took place near the LSU and University of Kentucky games. Both games were played in Starkville and both games were MSU wins.
“If the football team is doing well, the town will do well,” Williams said. “Sales spikes are the Thursday, Friday, Saturday leading up to the game.”
Some stores see more foot traffic before a game, with people buying MSU clothing to wear on Saturday.
“Usually on Fridays, especially game day Fridays, we always have really good foot traffic,” JCG Apparel manager Mckinley Gallagher said. “I feel like those are our favorite days just because everybody’s excited about the weekend and we really love to see everybody come in and get pumped up for the game.”
Beginning the Thursday before a home game, JCG Apparel hands out buttons and stickers to encourage customers to visit their store.
“We use that as a fun incentive,” Gallagher said. “Those Fridays we offer 20 percent off if you’re wearing maroon.”
Gallagher said graphic T-shirts have been popular items, with people buying new shirts to wear the day before a game.
“Especially this past weekend for the A&M game, people were coming in looking for particular shirts they wanted to take to the game that weekend,” Gallagher said. “We always have people coming in trying to find stuff for the games.”
On weekends where there is an away football game, most retail associates shared they take the time to relax or finish other tasks around the store.
“We’re so busy on the weekends we are here that it’s nice to rearrange the store and get everything ready for the upcoming week and weekends,” Aspen Bay sales associate Abby Richardson said. “This weekend we took the time to decorate for Christmas. We take advantage of the weekends when it’s a little slower.”
Tabb said she uses the slower weekends as time to unwind, usually watching the game with friends.
“We have so many events on game day weekends, like this Friday night is Unwine Downtown,” Tabb said. “So we’re going to be up here until after 9:30 on Fridaynight and then turn around and get back up, work Saturday and do Brunch and Browse on Sunday. So on the off weekends we all kind of take a little break.”
Tabb said money made during football season carries retailers through the slower times of the year like the summer months, so retailers are happy to have a successful football season.