Nov. 28—ALEXANDRIA — In her first year of business, Crystal Ulery has been pleased with the response of customers who browse and purchase items at ReCoop, her downtown furniture and clothing boutique.
Still, she's looking ahead to the holiday season with some apprehension.
"I've done pretty well this year, but I do feel like I still need as many customers as possible today," she said shortly after opening her doors on Small Business Saturday.
As a cloud of recent bleak economic numbers hangs over the holiday shopping season, small business owners are facing a myriad of challenges that, in some cases, could dictate whether their doors remain open in 2022.
According to the Shop Small Impact Survey, published earlier this month by American Express, 78% of those entrepreneurs said the holiday season would have a direct impact on their decisions to remain open. Locally, some small business owners said they're experiencing issues similar to big box stores, many of which are having trouble keeping inventory stocked due to the ongoing nationwide supply chain problems.
"My biggest issue has been getting product in, getting the product in to have it," said Amy McCurry, who owns the McCurry'Osity Shop, a clothing and décor store in downtown Alexandria. "I'll order something and then two months later it'll actually show up.
"T-shirts in general have been hard to get in," she added. "A lot of the companies went to making masks, so that has been an issue."
There is also concern that last year's outpouring of support for small businesses during the height of the pandemic might prove to be an anomaly. Although 80% of consumers in a separate American Express survey said they plan to "shop small" at some point this holiday season, expectations are that spending on Small Business Saturday won't surpass last year's total of $19.8 billion that shoppers spent with independent retailers nationwide.
Still, shoppers out and about Saturday declared that their decisions to skip the lines at the big box stores were purposeful.
"I don't want to give my money to (Amazon owner) Jeff Bezos, thank you very much," said Edgewood resident Kristen Vo as she inspected some necklaces at Collective Roots in downtown Anderson. The specialty market and consignment shop, which opened last year, is a collective that has given more than 50 local artisans a chance to sell their products.
"I definitely prefer to give my money to the community, in particular this store," she said.