Online shopping hurts Lake Worth retailers over holidays

LAKE WORTH — I t was a bl ue Christmas for many downtown Lake Worth retailers as mom and pop shops — locally and nationwide — continue to lose customers to a big ol’ Grinch called online shopping.

“It’s not like it used to be,” said David Webber, manager of The Bruce Webber Gallery and The Art Shop, a picture framing Keep up with The Post’s complete coverage of Lake Worth on its Facebook page dedicated to the city. On Facebook, search for Post on Lake Worth.

and arts supply store on Lucerne Avenue. “We used to be stacked four feet deep with people coming in to pick up pictures for holiday gifts.”

Webber attributes 85 percent of the gallery’s lost sales to more people buying gifts with a click of a mouse at home instead of the swipe of a credit card in a store.

“Anybody younger than me doesn’t care what goes on their walls,” said Webber, who is 43. “They’ll go to Ikea, buy a subpar couch and hang whatever they think matches it for next to nothing. Our sales are significantly lower and it’s sad.” Webber’s gallery is not alone. CarriElle’s Closet, a new upscale designer store that opened on North K street in June, also struggled to find holiday shoppers.

“We had days where we were super busy and those when it was really quiet,” said Carrie Childs, a store co-owner. “We should have advertised or done more promotion.”

Elle Horigan, Childs’ business partner, said most customers came in mostly to style and buy clothes for themselves.

“We wanted more people buy- ing gifts,” Horigan said. “It was slow. We can’t compete with the 75 percent off you see at Nordstrom’s or Macy’s, nor do we want to.”

Lake Worth Jewelers, a Lake Avenue fixture for 25 years, also saw sluggish sales.

“It was below average,” said Marvin Riggs, a part-owner. “It’s just so competitive in this business with the internet, pawn-