Holiday shopping season a boon for local retailers

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

Susan Baker-Clark is a tad old school when it comes to gift-giving during the holiday season.

While some people have turned to websites and delivery trucks for much of their shopping, Baker-Clark likes the hands-on approach.

“I prefer to go into a store. I just like to see what I’m getting,” said Baker-Clark. “At the holidays it’s fun to shop. You have to go get a coffee or you have to get a glass of wine or something to eat. It’s an event.”

Baker-Clark, a retired nurse, was looking for new and interesting things to purchase on the day after Christmas in what has become one of her favorite local retail spots – Unique Country Store. She had a companion with her on her shopping trip as well — her son’s dog, Peanut Butter Cup.

Baker-Clark, along with her husband, Charles Baker-Clark, a retired professor, moved to Charles City from Iowa City this past September after their son took a job at Zoetis. Her husband created a scholarship through a Hospitality and Tourism Management Study Abroad program that he set up. It allowed college students to travel overseas to Italy while he was a professor at Grand Valley State University in Michigan prior to moving to Iowa.

So the Baker-Clarks understand different, exciting and new. That’s why they like purchasing items at Unique Country Store.

“Her husband loves this store,” said store owner Shelley Zweibohmer.

Baker-Clark said her husband has purchased clothes, wine, candy and perfume at the store.

Baker-Clark likes what she sees for the most part as far as what local merchants offer in the area.

“I’m not a big shopper. I’m content. There’s clothing available, there’s gift shops. The only thing we could use is an Italian restaurant,” she said.

Zweibohmer said the holiday shopping season has been good to her store, which opened up its Charles City location in August 2018 after moving from Floyd.

“Sales are up,” she said. “Last Christmas we really didn’t know. Was this like Christmas sales or was this ‘you’re a new store, we haven’t been in there.’ It’s hard for us to compare from last year.’”

Zweibohmer said sales have gone up every week since the store opened.

“When we bring something new in, it automatically increases the flow of traffic. People want to see. They want to come in and get bakery items,” said Zweibohmer. “The embroidery and the printing has skyrocketed – anything in general.”

You name it, you might be able to find it at Zweibohmer’s store.

“Gag gifts are huge,” she said. “You don’t find a cookie dipper in every store. You don’t find astronaut food.”

Just down Main Street, Brittany Bock, a sales associate for Charles City Electronics and T-J Service, said people are shopping local and even more so during the holiday rush to purchase presents.

“For the appliance side of things, we definitely had more traffic compared to last year,” said Brittany. “We’ve seen definitely an increase in traffic closer to Christmas.”

T-J Service offers sales and service for washers, dryers and garage doors – to name a few.

“There seems to be a lot bigger traffic to shop local and to shop independent appliance sellers,” said Brittany. “When things break, people trust the people that repair them.”

T-J Service, owned by Tom and Julie Bock, has maintained a downtown presence in Charles City for decades. Bock’s business originated in his garage in 1976. He moved to a store downtown in 1987 and set up shop in his current location in 1995.

“The appliance section of things does a good job of keeping a lot of holiday sales going to keep customers’ interest,” said Brittany.

Charles City Electronics will celebrate its 25th anniversary in February.

For the whole month of November, Bock said sales were up for T-J Service. The electronics department held a Black Friday sale for two weeks.

“Mostly a lot of people know now that between Thanksgiving and the end of the year is the best time to buy because there’s good sales. So we almost always see a push between those dates,” said Brittany.

Jeff Otto, who along with his wife, Lori, have owned Otto’s Oasis on Gilbert Street in Charles City since 2007, had a bit of a different take on the holiday shopping season.

Because the date of Thanksgiving this was year was the latest it can be, Otto thought that might have affected his holiday sales bottom line to a certain extent. His store and greenhouse sells Thanksgiving and Christmas centerpieces, along with a vast variety of unique and interesting Christmas decor like ornaments, evergreen trees, wreaths and roping.

“I didn’t see as many lights out in town. I don’t think people decorated as much this year,” said Jeff. “I don’t know if it was a shorter season because Thanksgiving was late and Christmas was right three weeks away. There’s not as much time in there to decorate. People, I think, felt pushed. I don’t think we’re up in sales.”

The greenhouse that Otto’s Oasis operates sells 1,700 poinsettias each year and Jeff said those were sold out right up until Christmas. He is thinking about using another greenhouse on his property to sell even more of the festive red plants next holiday season.

“I think I’ll be wholesaling a few more next year,” Jeff said.

Jeff said he appreciates customers that shop in Charles City and at his store. The more different options each business can provide, the better shopping experience can be had by all, he said. He also knows it can be an uphill climb for many retailers out there.

“I just want to say thank you to the ones that do shop local. It’s a struggle. You see businesses closing all the time. We want to stay and we need the support from local people,” said Jeff. “The more you have, the more people will come to shop at all the stores. Keep your eye on us and all the local stores because we’re always working to try and bring new things and do different things to improve our businesses.”