Dec. 16, 2024
The first holiday season for Dillard’s in Sioux Falls seems to be showing that area shoppers are ready to buy.
“So far, it appears they really like it,” district manager Mark Galvan said.
“Our ready-to-wear women’s business continues to be very strong. Cosmetics is strong. Men’s is coming along exceptionally well. It looks like Sioux Falls loves our fragrances, which is not too shocking, and our kids business has been really good there.”
The company’s signature “trim a home” area also is a draw during the holidays, he said.
“Customers appreciate it. You really can’t find things like that in mass anymore,” he said. “But it seems like everyone has reacted to it well.”
Galvan visited the location at The Empire Mall last week. The store opened earlier this year off the food court.
“I was pretty pleased overall with some of the things we’re seeing,” he said. “I’m super-optimistic about next year.”
Within the broader Empire Mall, “there’s good momentum,” general manager Dan Gies said.
Property owner Simon reported 6.4 percent overall growth in traffic for Black Friday weekend, and “we were right along with that,” he said. “Women’s category is on top, men’s and family clothing are right there too that’s performing well, and accessories are our No. 3 category, more costume jewelry. And that’s across the mall.”
An unprecedented lockdown of the mall after were shots fired inside disrupted shopping on a Friday night in early December, but the mall quickly recovered as no one was hurt and security stepped up, he said.
“We had a good rebound — better than expected,” Gies said. “And we’ve been working real close with the (police) chief making sure we’ve got good presence, and that will continue through the holidays.”
This year’s holiday season has managed to be both longer and shorter: The traditional shopping window between Thanksgiving and Christmas is less than 30 days thanks to the later Thanksgiving holiday and includes four weekends instead of five. But retailers also began advertising “Black Friday” deals as soon as early November.
“It gets earlier and earlier, and it’s really being driven by the consistent marketing messages,” Gies said. “I believe incrementally this is going to be an overall increase just because of that.”
The shorter window between holidays means “five less shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the consumer is starting to realize that,” Lewis Drug CEO Mark Griffin said. “They’re a little late, but they’re getting going on it, and it’s kind of a wakeup call at the last minute.”
In October, the National Retail Federation forecasted 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent growth for the holiday season. Thanksgiving weekend exceeded expectations.
“U.S. economic growth remained strong in the third quarter, with gross domestic product expanding more than many estimates of the economy’s long-run potential capacity,” NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a recent report.
“Consumers’ view of the economy has improved, and they remain supportive of retail sales.”
That seems to be the case locally, said Kevin Nyberg, owner of Nyberg’s Ace and board chair of the South Dakota Retailers Association.
“What I’m hearing is people are optimistic, and they’re out and about,” he said. “The fair weather helps, and one thing I think is very, very important is people understand more the importance of buying local, and that’s huge.”
The mall has leaned into it as well with a marketing campaign highlighting the more than 20 businesses that are locally owned and located in the mall.
In downtown Sioux Falls, business at The Spice & Tea Exchange was up more than 20 percent in October and continued a strong double-digit surge in November, pointing in part to early holiday shopping, co-owner Tami Brown said.
December, with a less friendly weekend calendar, has trended slower.
“We heard people talking in September about shopping already,” she said. “We (still) seem to be busy. We just don’t have the days where people are maybe going to be out free shopping (because of the calendar). So I don’t really know how to predict December.”
The store will stock up on more grab-and-go gifts for the final days of holiday shopping, she added.
“And we’ll have some items in limited supply,” she said, adding that some of those items could be used in promotions.
Back to basics, value focused
Consumers also are being cautious in weighing their holiday purchases, Griffin said.
“It’s a practical Christmas. They’re being more deliverable in their purchases, and they’re value-driven, which is good,” he said. “We sell a lot of basics and practical items. They’re not impulse buying as much as they did a couple years ago.”
Nyberg is seeing the same thing.
“People are still looking at the basics,” he echoed. “They’re looking for deals. I grew up in the business and always hear that whenever it’s a presidential election, the economy kind of slows down and people aren’t spending as much, and now that’s behind us and I sense it.”
Shoppers stretching their budget mean strong business for Kid to Kid, a children’s apparel and toy reseller that opened earlier this year at the Western Mall.
“It’s been really great — better than we expected,” franchisee Alexa Goodroad said. “We’re just trying to meet the demands of the community and figure out ways to keep our racks full of in-season (merchandise). But it’s been crazy.”
Shoppers have come in saying “I’d rather go to Kid to Kid and get a whole bunch of stuff than get one or two outfits, so that’s really cool,” she said. “And we have 30-day returns, so shopping in December they have time, and it’s been awesome to be open and be able to offer that to the community.”
Toys, puzzles and travel activity books have been especially popular, as have “warmies,” which are plush animals that can be put in the microwave.
“Those are super-popular,” Goodroad said. “We can hardly keep them in stock.”