Wendy French is on Facebook Live at the same time, three days a week. She holds up numbered garments for the camera, from her small women’s clothing store, Cascades Boutique, in historic downtown Chagrin Falls. Until the pandemic hit, her website had mostly been just a place to put pictures.
French relied on Chagrin Falls’ small town charm to lift up her business. The natural, picturesque waterfall in the center of the village drew regulars and day-trippers. But in March, after COVID-19 hit, she was forced to get out of her comfort zone. She learned about social media, encouraged people to order online, offered curbside pickup, and even gave special consultations before and after store hours.
“I’m trying to make people feel comfortable buying from a small business, and I’m pointing out advantages,” says French, “because unlike much bigger stores, we’re all about the personal touch and working hard to make people feel safe while shopping.”
Stores such as French’s, on suburban stretches from Chagrin Falls to Cleveland Heights’ Coventry to Mentor, and city streets from Kamm’s Corners to Larchmere, have long anchored their communities. Beyond contributing to the economy, they knit their areas together. But even for businesses such as Cascades, which are adapting, the longevity of the coronavirus downturn is spawning worry as the all-important holiday shopping season approaches.
In a June survey, 65% of Ohio members of the National Federation of Independent Businesses said they were concerned about customers returning and getting their sales back on track. “We all know that many small businesses are struggling, and we are doing everything possible to help them succeed,” says Megan Kim, executive director of the Council of Smaller Enterprises. “If ever there were a time to support local businesses, that time is now — especially as we look toward the holiday season.”
It’s going to take large marketing pushes to encourage shoppers to visit, and even then there is no guarantee that the traditional Christmas sales bump will arrive. Getting help from community leaders and associations is more important than ever. So is trumpeting the “Shop Local” message. Choosing to buy a present from your favorite shop or maker, instead of from a chain or online giant, could be the thing that keeps that business alive for many holidays to come.
French has seen Chagrin Falls’ leaders do their part, and they’re hardly alone. The city of Hudson, for instance, teamed up with its merchants association and chamber of commerce to brainstorm on weekly Zoom calls.
Similar to other small towns, it started a designated outdoor refreshment area, which allows alcoholic beverages to be consumed while strolling the district. Some retailers even allow drinking inside, and stickers were distributed to let customers know where they could imbibe and browse.
The city also tried to capture the spirit of an old-school Main Street stroll with several promotions, including Hudson Fairy Doors, where 40 colorful, pint-sized door dioramas were scattered all around the city and at downtown retailers. Shoppers, especially ones with kids, were encouraged to find them all, and hopefully spend along the way.
For the holidays, Hudson is focusing on giving visitors the face-pressed-to-glass feeling of a Higbee’s visit during the revamped Holiday Walk, a 40-year-old annual tradition, usually held one day only on the first Sunday of December. This year, to avoid crowds, it will be held from noon-3 p.m. on the first three Sundays of the month.
“Windows along Main Street and in [the] First & Main [development] will have costumed elves, snowmen, and in one case the White Witch from The Chronicles of Narnia, all engaged in some activity,” says Liz Murphy, executive director of Destination Hudson. To safely amp up the holiday spirit even more, and help retailers, elves will hand out candy canes and musicians will play on street corners, all while wearing masks.
Medina is following suit. Matt Wiederhold, executive director of Main Street Medina, says that the organization is revamping its 36th annual Medina Candlelight Walk in anticipation of a unique holiday season. It features more than 2 miles of LED lights aimed at promoting the area’s quaint, vibrant entertainment and shopping offerings, and its community Christmas tree.
“For the first time, we’re not encouraging people to come all at once. We’re promoting it for seven weeks, from Thanksgiving
leading up to after New Year’s,” Wiederhold says. “We believe that people will make day trips and afternoon trips. We’re encouraging store owners to help promote it. We’re a quick 30 minutes from downtown Cleveland and we’ve got 1,500 spaces to park.”
Up the highway, Rosemary Mudry, executive director of West Park Kamm’s Neighborhood Development, says that as winter buying season approaches, she is reminding people to support small businesses through events and social promotions. West Park Kamm’s Neighborhood Development first started in June, when they turned their longtime street festival, Hooley on Kamm’s Corners, into an at-home event that live streamed performances from local bands. Meanwhile, various West Park businesses, bars and restaurants offered specials. Now they’re working on a holiday social media promotion and event that kicks off Nov. 28, Small Business Saturday. It will highlight a different retail sector each day and culminate with an outdoor winter farmers market.
“Recognizing that most business owners are swamped just managing safety with COVID, we don’t want to put anything else on them,” Mudry says. “Our marketing person is creating everything that they’ll need to help promote the event on social media.”
Most small businesses have been forced to adapt and pivot. Evie Lou, which opened its first location in Tremont 10 years ago, has not been reliant on strictly brick-and-mortar for the last eight years. Online sales account for 50% of Evie Lou’s sales. But that didn’t stop owner Kim Crow from opening a second store in Oberlin in August. Crow says she was very concerned, but thankfully the community supported the business. The personal touch, she says, is more important than ever.
“We’re all about going old-school now. We’re calling people when things come in. We’re offering to drop things off and pick things up,” Crow says. “A lot of our clients just aren’t comfortable leaving the house. But they still might want a new sweatshirt or cozy pair of pants during this time.”
That new mix of hyper-personal, friendly retail services and online sales could provide a path through the holiday season for many local businesses, especially small ones such as French’s. She is still working hard to build up a social media presence for the first time.
“I want to keep my business going, so I have to do what it takes to reinvent and offer an emotional connection on social media,” French says. “But you don’t have to spend money to support small businesses. It doesn’t cost money to like photos and pages and share videos. Trust me, we are grateful."
