Local stores are faring well despite compressed holiday shopping season
Jeff Kiger, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
5 min read
Nov. 23—ROCHESTER — As the short sprint between Thanksgiving to Christmas rolls in, Rochester retailers are having a pretty merry holiday season so far, despite the lack of winter weather or of a hot gift for 2024.
The big question is just how merry it will be.
University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management Professor George John predicts this will be an "interesting" holiday season, with the National Retail Federation predicting that 2024 will be 4% better than 2023. This year has some wild card factors, like the compressed timeline of 27 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas and the advertising hangover following the election.
John feels the contentious political season sucked up a lot of the energy that usually drives holiday shopping.
"I think it's sort of a mixed bag. I think we'll clearly do better than last year, but how much better remains to be seen with all of these strange factors thrown in," John said. "Now that the elections are over, customers may return with a vengeance to either go shopping for therapy or shopping in ecstasy, depending on whoever you voted for. Retailers seem to be cautiously optimistic."
Three family-owned Rochester businesses — Ama La Vita boutique, Rochester Lapidary and Tyrol Ski & Sports — are looking forward to a solid holiday season to wrap up what has been a good year for their stores.
Adam Kirckof, of Rochester Lapidary Jewelers at 3745 N. Broadway, is happy with how 2024 played out for his 70-year-old family business, which he took over following the 2016 death of his father, "Diamond Don" Kirckof.
"My dad was not an emotional man. But if he could see the sales numbers and where we are at right now, he would start crying," said Kirckof.
He's not worried about the compressed shopping season.
"Everybody has some people that they buy for every year, right? You're still going to come in and get something for your wife, for your daughter, for your mother. It doesn't matter if you have six weeks or if you have four and a half weeks," said Kirckof.
With Black Friday sales starting in early November, Professor John agreed the shortened time between holidays shouldn't hurt retailers too much.
"Even though it sounds crazy, many say the holiday shopping season starts just before Halloween," he said.
For Knapp's Ama La Vita boutique , this will be the first holiday season with two Rochester locations. She opened a downtown shop at 104 First Ave. SW on Rochester's Peace Plaza in August as a sister store to the original location at Hillcrest Shopping Center.
The downtown shop adds a new dimension to Ama La Vita's reach.
"We definitely get patients. We get Mayo Clinic employees and we get some people from Rochester, so it's a mix," she said. "Customers that are from out of town are looking for something to do downtown. We just had a crazy Sunday due to customers looking for something to do, which is surprising because Sundays are typically slow."
Knapp said now that the holiday decorations are up, the shoppers are spending more time looking for the perfect gift. One woman recently found a decorative spoon at Ama La Vita to be the perfect gift for someone. Customized necklaces at the store's Charm Bar, candles and home goods are also popular choices. Nice socks are also a classic choice.
Socks are also popular at Tyrol Ski & Sports, at 1923 Second St. SW.
"SmartWool socks are something that a lot of people buy every year for Christmas. They're easy to give and people like to get them," said Kristin Welch, who co-owns the almost 60-year-old Rochester outdoors store with her husband, Robb Welch.
Tyrol shoppers also pick up classic items like Patagonia fleeces and sweaters as well as gear for the skiers and snowboarders on their holiday lists.
Unlike Rochester Lapidary and Ama La Vita, the weather is a big factor for Tyrol, when it comes to holidays.
"If there's snow on the ground, people are more likely to think of us and about giving a snow-related gift that people could use right away," she said. "The snow and cold is the best advertiser. The weather can definitely play a big part in our sales for the whole year. Of course, we do a fair amount of sales between Thanksgiving and the first of January."
One way that Tyrol has weathered stretches of fair weather is hosting special events for its customers. The 15,000-square-foot store recently hosted its 10th annual Ladies Night event with discounts and specials with food and drink in a party atmosphere.
While they sell very different things, all three longtime Rochester stores have one thing in common that retailer expert John says is the biggest driver for success. They know their customers and what they want. That is particularly true when it comes to holiday shopping, when 40% or more of presents are returned before the new year starts.
"What does all that mean? It means that if a small retailer can find things that their customer might see as unique and not just 'the Same Old, Same Old' stuff available everywhere at Target and Walmart, they'll make a go of it," said John. "That opportunity is there, but it's not easy. It's not so much the pricing. It's got to be a product that means something to the customer. That's pretty much the start and the end of it all."
John added that while online shopping continues to grow as competition for small, family-owned stores, the surge in online shopping that started during the pandemic has slowed.
"While there was a spike during COVID, the good news is that people are coming back to their regular shopping habits. A shade under 20% of all retail sales are made online. So the universe of in-store shopping is still extraordinarily large and we seem to be back on trend," he said.
