Holiday sales in Ohio are expected to climb 7.3%
In-store sales at Conrads College Gifts at Easton Town Center were off to a sluggish start on Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.
Cold, snowy weather on Friday gets some of the blame, and Jonathan Cohen, the retailer's president who represents the third generation of family ownership of the store, said business at
Conrads on Black Friday tends to pick up around noon or early afternoon after many shoppers already have hit Walmart or Best Buy.
But it was a different story online,
where a surge of orders that began on Thanksgiving extended into Friday, helped by the fact that the retailer was offering the same deals online and in the store.
The black Block O hat is popular right now with shoppers along with Christmas ornaments and jackets, he said.
"Orders are coming in faster than we can print them," he said.
Conrads anticipated online shopping would be strong Friday, especially given the weather, he said.
"It's safe, easier and more comfortable to order from your house,'' Cohen said.
Nationwide, retailers expected bigger crowds than last year in a closer step toward normalcy than last year when many shoppers were hesitant to go out because of the coronavirus. But the fallout from the pandemic continues to weigh on businesses and shoppers' minds.
Buoyed by solid hiring, healthy pay gains and substantial savings, customers are returning to stores and splurging on all types of items. The spike has also resulted in limited selection across the board as suppliers and retailers have been caught flat-footed.
Shortages of shipping containers and truckers have delayed deliveries while inflation continues to creep. The combination of not finding the right item at the right price – in addition to a labor shortage that makes it more difficult for businesses to respond to customers – could make for a less festive mood.
In Ohio, retail sales – defined as sales that exclude gasoline, food sales and autos – are expected to rise 7.3% in November, December and January from the prior year period to $31.4 billion, according to the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants' research arm, Focus on Ohio's Future, and the University of Cincinnati Economics Center.
For Greater Columbus, sales are expected to total $5.8 billion, up slightly from the 2020 holiday shopping season, the forecast showed. The sales for the Columbus region make up 18.6% of sales for the state.
“These numbers also show the strength of Ohio retailers' successful omni-channel strategy of offering both online and brick and mortar options to
their customers,” Gordon Gough, president and CEO of the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants, said in a statement.
Conrads' Cohen said supply-chain problems have hurt the retailer for months and that has continued into the holiday shopping season.
T-shirts have been in short supply along with some hats, he said.
"Champion (one of the companies that makes Ohio State items) ran out of T-shirts. We couldn't get any T-shirts for two-three months. That really hurt us."
"We're thankful just to be in business
right now,'' Cohen said, given the impact of the coronavirus on all retailers, not just Conrads.
Elsewhere at Easton, by 10:30 a.m., traffic was brisk with surface lots already 65% full, CEO Jennifer Peterson said.
"Early indications are that customers are still focused on items for the home," she said. "Additionally, athletic wear and equipment remain popular. We are also seeing demand for apparel return in a very big way.
"As is typical with Easton on Black Friday, our traffic will really ramp up as customers come to enjoy lunch and then continue well into the evening with shopping, dining and entertainment."
Customers shopping on Friday figured to pay on average between 5% and 17% more for toys, clothing, appliances, TVS and others purchases on Black Friday this year compared with last year, according to Aurelien Duthoit, senior sector adviser at Allianz Research, with the biggest price increases on TVS. That's because whatever discounts available will be applied to goods that already cost more.
“I think it is going to be a messy holiday season,” said Neil Saunders, managing director at Globaldata Retail. ”It will be a bit frustrating for retailers, consumers and the workers. We are going to see long lines. We are going to see messier stores. We are going to see delays as you collect online orders.”
Big retailers have been preparing for the holiday season, trying to find workarounds to supply chain hold-ups. Some of the biggest U.S. retailers are rerouting goods to less congested ports, even chartering their own vessels.
While Black Friday has a strong hold on Americans' imaginations as a day of crazed shopping, it has lost stature over the last decade as stores opened on Thanksgiving and shopping shifted to Amazon and other online retailers. Stores diluted the day's importance further by advertising Black Friday sales on more and more days.
The pandemic led many retailers to close stores on Thanksgiving Day and push discounts on their websites, starting as early as October. That's continuing this year, although there are deals in stores as well.
Heidi Maybruck, owner of Celebrate Local at Easton, also blamed the weather for a slow start Friday morning, but she said business was picking up.
The store features more than 3,500 products from more than 200 artists throughout Ohio.
Maybruck was gearing up for a Small Business Saturday promotion in which customers get 20% off purchases of $100 or more.
"I tried this last year because of the pandemic and it worked out very well," she said. "Many of the customers did curbside pickup so I thought I would try it again."
The Associated Press contributed to this report. mawilliams@dispatch.com @Bizmarkwilliams