News Photo by Steve Schulwitz
Anna Woods, an employee at Olivet Book and Gifts in downtown Alpena, organizes a nativity at the store on Tuesday. Local small businesses depend on holiday shoppers to help make it through the slow parts of the year.
ALPENA — Small businesses around Northeast Michigan welcome the heavy holiday shopper foot traffic they see during the weekend after Thanksgiving.
For most local businesses, Black Friday and Small Business Saturday today and Saturday are key to their bottom line before the less productive winter months arrive.
Many locally owned businesses consider the Christmas shopping and tourist season as their bread and butter, when cash registers are the most active.
A solid holiday shopping season can also be the deciding factor in how profitable a small business is when financial books are closed for the year.
Mary Rajasekhar, owner of Olivet Book and Gifts in downtown Alpena, said that, beginning in October, business begins to amp up and doesn’t slow down until Christmas has passed.
She said planning for the holiday shopping season begins far in advance as staff bolsters inventory, decorates the store, and comes up with specials and deals.
“We 100% see more people out, and we plan all year round for this sort of burst of sales,” she said. “All of us downtown have been preparing and looking forward to all of the friendly faces. I think the Alpena community and beyond have really done their part to support downtown businesses, especially during Christmas. That is a big thumbs up for our area.”
The Alpena Downtown Development Authority hosts events in the weeks and months before Christmas to help increase traffic into the stores, restaurants, and taverns. People flood into the businesses during several Halloween-themed events and during the Alpena holiday parade, which happens tonight.
Anne Gentry, Alpena DDA executive director, said ensuring business owners have a successful holiday shopping season is vital to their success and sustainability.
“Christmastime is just as important — or more important — as summer tourism,” Gentry said. “It gives them a jolt heading into the months from January to May when things slow down significantly. It is good for the businesses to have that nice boost we have seen the last month or so.”
Gentry said most of the downtown businesses accept the DDA-issued Downtown Dollars, which also helps add money to their coffers.
Often, people are unsure of what to get a loved one, so they purchase the Downtown Dollars gift certificates and let their loved ones choose where and how they want to use them.
Gentry said Downtown Dollars are available year-round, but most of them are purchased during Christmastime.
“There are more than 60 businesses that accept them, from restaurants to car repair shops, salons, and shops,” Gentry said. “With the gift cards, it ensures the money stays downtown and it costs businesses nothing to accept them. Each year, we see about $20,000 in sales, and probably a quarter to a half are from the holiday season.”
Downtown Dollars trickle into local businesses all year long, which helps during the slow spells, Gentry said.
Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.