PITTSFIELD â For small retailers, the holiday shopping season usually is the most wonderful time of the year.
It brings in more revenue from Thanksgiving and Christmas than the rest of the calendar year, with holiday sales, on average, representing 20 percent of annual sales for most industries, and even 30 percent or higher for some others, according to the National Retail Federation. Tis the season, indeed. But, this year, the holiday season is even more important to small retailers in the Berkshires than it normally is. It s hard to be jolly when the COVID-19 pandemic has turned everything upside down.
Many small retailers in the Berkshires were forced to shut for several weeks this spring when the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect the local economy. So, they are putting more emphasis on the holiday season this year as they try to end the year with a traditional bang and make up for the revenue that they didn t expect to lose.
jriddle@thealpenanews.com
News Photo by Julie Riddle
Postal carrier Amy Kieliszewski loads packages into her mail truck at the loading bay of the Alpena Post Office on Thursday.
ALPENA The annual Christmas rush started early in 2020, judging by the back end of mail trucks.
This year, packages have been flying since spring, when stimulus checks hit bank accounts and stuck-at-home shoppers with a few extra bucks to spend started clicking “add to cart,” according to Alpena Postmaster Rob Gross.
In his 30 years at the post office, 2020 has been the most challenging, Gross said.
COVID-19-related health precautions, address changes as employees worked from home, an election year that leaned heavily on mailed ballots arriving on time, and packages upon packages to be delivered have required the U.S. Postal Service to keep up a frantic pace for months.
Baltimore County s small retailers urge customers to shop in person amid online competition, pandemic baltimoresun.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from baltimoresun.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
How to support local Portland and Oregon businesses this holiday season without leaving your house
Updated Dec 11, 2020;
Posted Dec 11, 2020
Crafty Wonderland usually draws thousands of people to its annual holiday market at the Oregon Convention Center, but opted to go virtual this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Stephanie Yao Long/The Oregonian LC)LC- The Oregonian
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It would be an understatement to say that 2020 has been a tough year for Oregon retailers.
Many are still struggling to recover since being forced to briefly close at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, while others have shut their doors for good. More than half of 60 small businesses surveyed in September by Bricks Need Mortar, which advocates for independent Portland retailers, reported that their sales were down 50% to 90% compared to the same time last year.
Garcetti launches website to help Angelenos find small businesses to support for holiday shopping
Published
Credit: LAOriginal.com
LOS ANGELES - Mayor Eric Garcetti Wednesday announced an initiative to promote shopping at Los Angeles small businesses this holiday season.
In partnership with L.A. Original, a program of the nonprofit Mayor s Fund for Los Angeles, the Do Something Big, Support Small initiative was created to support shopping at smaller, local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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