Retailers look to holidays to boost business

After many of Georgetown’s downtown businesses faced a difficult summer in part due to this year’s extreme temperatures, winter festivities and promotions aim to get residents and shoppers to the Square to jumpstart the holiday shopping season. To celebrate Shop Small Saturday November 25, the Georgetown Main Street Program is having a Coffee and Cocoa Crawl.

Melody English, Owner of Prima Dora gift shop, said events and promotions hosted by the City of Georgetown and other groups help businesses downtown.

“I think it’s important to acknowledge that the city does so much for the businesses— for all of us,” Ms. English said. “It’s been a godsend for all of the businesses down here. The businesses really appreciate them drawing people in.”

For businesses already facing rising rents and increased online competition, the holiday season is key to whether the year will be profitable or not.

“For our business, and for many other retail businesses, we can see up to 40 percent of our annual revenue in the last three months of the year,” said Jane Estes, founder of Lark and Owl Booksellers in Georgetown. “So when things are slow during our busy season, that is devastating.”

Jeff Manley, who co-owns Wag Heaven with his husband Jusak Yang Bernhard, said they are hoping that the sale of holiday pet toys and treats over the next month will make up for low revenues the stores saw this summer compared to past years. He said he believes that during extreme weather, out of convenience people tend to order products online or from big-box stores instead of smaller retailers, which hurt with higher-than-average temperatures this year.

Lark and Owl is also nervous approaching this holiday season because if business doesn’t pick up, they will be in serious trouble. The store put out a video last month outlining financial hardships, and the importance of supporting Georgetown-owned businesses.

In addition to the weather affecting people’s shopping, there is also the rising interest rates to think about. When people are nervous about spending money, they often shop in fewer stores or look online.

“I think that rising interest rates affect local businesses the most,” Ms. Estes said. “People can justify going to Target or whatever [and buying books there] because they’re going to get lots of things for their house. But going to a local specialty store or a gift store that really only specializes in one or two things is a bigger decision when people are feeling the pinch.”

Amazon poses a particular threat to bookstores because of their pricing.

“There are people in the book industry that really believe that Amazon is trying to put bookstores out of business, and I used to not believe that but now I do,” Ms. Estes said. “Amazon sometimes lists their books lower than what [bookstores] can buy for wholesales from the publishers. Amazon knows that they’re going to lose money selling those books. But they also know that people are going to buy other things.”

To compete, Lark and Owl does have an online shop at Bookshop.org.

“That way people can stay at home and order whatever they want in their pajamas,” Ms. Estes said. “It will come straight to their door and their money is going back into their community.”

Supporting local supports local

When people buy things from Amazon or other big-box stores like Walmart or Target, it can be costly to locally-owned Georgetown businesses and their partners.

“The big thing is that the [sales] tax dollars stay in the community,” Ms. Estes said. “When you spend money at a local business, your money stays in the city and goes toward all the things that we need to be a thriving community. When you buy off of Amazon, that does not happen.”

Ms. Estes said that Lark and Owl was recently approached by a group in the community to get a bid for doing a bulk book order. The group ended up buying from Amazon. “[The community group] they said, ‘Oh well we have to go with Amazon.’ What people don’t realize is: the cost to your community is steep,” Ms. Estes said.

Mr. Manley said people sometimes lose sight of what investing in small businesses can do to benefit other community efforts.

“If a lot of [local businesses] go away, that help goes along with it,” Mr. Manley said.

WagHeaven supports the local animal shelters, various LGBTQ+ organizations and nonprofits like Brookwood in Georgetown, which it partnered with to provide jobs to residents through the Texas Workforce Program. WagHeaven also sponsor’s the city’s annual pet parade at the Red Poppy Festival and participates in fundraisers for local groups and causes throughout the year.

“Continue to remember what your local businesses are doing,” Mr. Yang Bernhard said. “Lark and Owl, they do so much more for the community than sell books. They support the community, we support the community, All Things Kids and other businesses, we all have these causes. When that gets mentioned, people go ‘Oh that’s great’ and then we get more business, but then [customers] forget.”

Lark and Owl supports groups like the HOPE Alliance and donates books to foster children, to name a few efforts.

“Anything that aligns with our mission and our heart, we make sure to utilize our resources and our platform,” Ms. Estes said. “We serve as a megaphone for those organizations. Historically, independent bookstores are known to be community resources, community centers, places where people gather and have their voices amplified.”

Getting people out to shop

“The city definitely makes Georgetown a destination which is good for all the merchants,” said Kate Challingswroth, who is the executive director of Handcrafts Unlimited.

She pointed to The Christmas Stroll December 1 and 2 as an event where residents meet friends for a glass of wine and to do a bit of shopping. The daytime Coffee and Cocoa Crawl on November 25 is better for families taking young children around the Square. And the Lighting of the Square brings activities and crowds downtown each year.

While she believes that the upcoming events are effectively geared toward younger demographics, Ms. Challingswroth said she doesn’t think the city is taking enough steps to engage with and draw in Georgetown’s older population.

“There are years when people want to be a part of the crowd and in a high energy environment. But [when people are older] they just want to be able to find parking,” she said.

Ms. Challingswroth believes that the city could increase the amount of handicap parking on the Square, which would help older people shop local.

Efforts are underway to increase parking downtown, with a new garage already approved by Georgetown City Council. Other efforts to make the Square more walkable are underway.