ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – Small shop owners are banking on Small Business Saturday to catch them up after a year of pandemic woes.
“Small business Saturday is usually our biggest event of the year with the whole community,” said Joy Myers, owner of Joyologie in Ormond Beach.
Owners like Myers are going on almost two years in a pandemic and now, supply chain issues are raising the cost of items or heavily delaying shipping.
“We had to get more swimwear from Columbia and then go with some bigger brands that you knew would have an ability to get stuff from China,” said Myers.
Getting creative is something many shop owners are doing this week to prepare.
Down the street, Neighborhood Surf Shop owner Amanda Fricks said they’ve changed a lot of the art and items they carry that will be on the shelves Saturday.
“With all of the borders closing, we couldn’t get fair trade products in so we had a lot of local artists come in, so we kind of shifted our gears,” she said.
The National Retail Federation expects Americans to shop in record breaking amounts this week.
Frick said local art and products and spending more upfront to get other products in this year will help keep their shelves stocked.
“We bit the bullet, we bought a bunch of stuff. We have a lot of great items. We’re kind of hoping people will come out and be cognitive of the local businesses and shops,” she said.
In Daytona Beach, Daytona Cigar Shop owner Miguel Nin said the last year has been challenging to bring in business.
“We have more people walking in the doors but people are taking it easier and they’re not spending as much, which it’s OK, we understand the times,” he said.
He said he’s also facing supply and shipping challenges ahead of the big day, but that he also makes his own cigars, which he offers at lower prices and hopes people will buy Saturday.
“I pray to the ground that people walk on when it comes to here because when it comes to them, I’m able to stay open and send my kids to school,” he said.