The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
State retailers report ‘robust’ holiday sales
Labor shortages, supply chain issues, inflation and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could have caused a bleak holiday season for Connecticut retailers.
But despite the challenges, many say they had a good season — and in some cases, even better than pre-pandemic years.
“It seems like it was a really good Christmas,” said Tim Phelan, president of the Connecticut Retail Merchants Association, a New Haven-based trade group. “Everything just fell into place and consumers really responded.”
While Connecticut sales data is not available, anecdotal observations suggest that retailers in the state fared about as well as their counterparts nationwide.
Holiday sales nationwide rose at its fastest pace in 17 years, according to a newly released report. Excluding automobiles, sales nationwide increased 8.5 percent year over year this holiday season, which ran from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, according to the report from Mastercard SpendingPulse. Online sales increased by 11 percent compared to the same period last year.
Some Connecticut retailers said sales were strong even when compared to pre-pandemic years.
“Last year was one of our best years ever,” said Jim Wilson, owner of Milford Photo, which has been open for 26 years. “Last year’s fourth quarter was really good. When we came out of the pandemic for the first time last summer, there was a real pent up demand, an eagerness, a ‘why wait’ attitude.”
The strength of holiday sales extended into the services category. Mark Curtis, chief executive officer of the Splash Car Wash chain, said gift certificate sales were “excellent.”
“It's a great gift that people love giving because it’s so easy for them to do,” Curtis said. “They don't have to go into a store.”
Julie Gabay, owner of Pacific Cycling & Triathlon in Stamford, said that while foot traffic in her store was down from previous years, “dollar-wise we did well.”
“The amount spent per customer was more,” Gabay said.
When the pandemic first started, she said bicycles were a really popular item.
“It was crazy, we were sold out across the board,” Gabay said. “Now we have a good amount in stock, but it’s still a tough market out there in terms of problems with the supply chain.”
Suppliers have increased the price retailers pay for getting the product shipped to them, she said. That has decreased retailers’ profit margins, according to Gabay.
“We had to change our business model,” she said. “Before we had a lot of entry-level bikes. But we couldn’t afford to do that anymore, so now we don’t sell any bicycles under $1,000.”
Wilson said several factors contributed to Milford Photo’s strong performance during the holidays.
“We had a lot of new products that came out that were worldbeaters,” he said. “It would come in the back door and go right out the front door. Every time a shipment would come in, we’d have a big list of people to call.”
Mirrorless cameras, which Wilson described as a smaller version of the SLR or single lens reflex cameras, were extremely popular among customers.
“Most of them start in the $800 range,” he said. “They have made these things so easy and the quality of pictures they take is so good. Anything that someone could do to ruin a photograph has pretty much been eliminated.”
Customers also flocked to take advantage of Milford Photo’s picture and film archiving service, according to Wilson.
“That’s our business: We sell things that create and preserve memories,” he said.
John Traynor, chief investment officer for Bridgeport-based People's United Bank, said one reason Connecticut retailers did so well was the decision to start their holidays sales earlier than usual.
“Normally, holiday sales start on Black Friday,” Traynor said, referring to the day after Thanksgiving. “This year, they started on Nov. 1.”
He said retailers also did a good job of managing their inventory. And those that were able to strike the right balance between brickand-mortar stores and an online presence did especially well, according to Traynor.
“Online sales remained strong this year and some retailers have been able to come up with a hybrid model that works well for them,” he said.
Dan Stolzenbach, general manager at the Stamford Town Center, said the mall “had a strong holiday season.”
“Traffic was positively robust on Black Friday, as customers were excited to be back to a somewhat normal holiday experience,” Stolzenbach said in a statement. “As the season progressed, and as COVID/omicron became more of an issue, we did see some additional hesitancy with customers, especially in the last few days leading up to Christmas and the week after. That said, overall, we had a very successful holiday season; traffic was healthy and many retailers reported beating their sales numbers from 2019.”