a very odd, merry, season

[msmemory_archive]

The news is full of tales of stores not having enough customers, making incredible markdowns, and in many cases failing. But it's all kind of abstract, as though it's happening hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Til I went to the Natick Mall (excuse me, The Natick Collection) tonight. I parked three cars away from the door to Penney's, having passed other open spaces on the way. There were many stores where I was the only customer, or one of few. (And a shout-out to Penney's, where I couldn't find one single open register.) Yet, it was still a frustrating and mostly fruitless trip. I did not get *anything* I went for. I made a couple of small purchases of a routine nature, like shower gel and binder labels, but that's it, and no Christmas presents. There I was, credit card in hand, unable to spend the money I'd planned on!

Enough of that! The goodness was, despite the thin crowds, or because of them, the people around me were really fairly cheery, allowing merges in the streets, waving baby carriages ahead of them, etc.; even the teens weren't hogging the aisles. Merry Christmas Shopping Season!

Comments

[evilnicola.livejournal.com]

Target was packed. I'd assume Walmart was the same.

Even the Burlington Mall, which is significantly cheaper that the Natick Collection, as a rule, was pretty busy. It looks like people just aren't shopping at more expensive places anymore

[laurion]

Cheaper than half of the Natick Collection. The other half is still the Natick Mall with all the new stores grafted on. :) And the old Natick Mall was _less_ upscale than the Burlington Mall. Makes for a very odd mix these days.

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

I'm assuming that part of how I got such a convenient space was that I was parking by Penney's, not Nordstrom's.

[matildalucet.livejournal.com]

Walmart in Danvers was not packed yesterday afternoon. There were customers, but there was plenty of room to look, breathe, think. I didn't find what I was looking for so I'm not sure how the register lines were.

[rosinavs.livejournal.com]

I was in the Burlington Mall for lunch on Monday and it was crowded. And it wasn't just the line of kids with parents waiting to sit on Santa's lap, either. We figured lunch break was when people were doing their Christmas shopping.

[laurion]

We had to make a trip to Macy's this past weekend, and I assure you, it was packed. Natick police directing traffic, some routes closed off, and 20 minutes of circling the lots. In other words, typical holiday fare. I agree there's probably more people on the typical Wednesday in Holiday Consumerica, but it isn't all doom and gloom. (Or bells and whistles, for those who thought they could safely go out to the malls this year)

[indigoserenity.livejournal.com]

I was encouraged by your tales of empty shopping malls. And went to the Burlington Mall yesterday in the heart of the ice storm. And it was packed. I had difficulty finding a parking space. There were tons of moms with teeny babies in strollers. Apparently wandering around the mall with your baby in a stroller is the thing to do on days when the weather is cruddy.

[aneirin-awenyd.livejournal.com]

I shopped in downtown Brattleboro yesterday. And it was weird.

There was no holiday rush, not even near lunchtime. Yes, the roads were messy, but Christmas is a week away. There was no bustle and there were no crowds.

I went into one lovely upscale gifty shop that I always peek into at the holidays and around my birthday and whenever I need a wedding gift. I only rarely buy something, but... Well, when I walked in, the proprieter rather desperately approached me (and every other person who walked in after me) to point out that their post-Christmas sale was starting a week early and to please, please look at all the red sale tags all over the place. I felt really sorry for her. I ended up buying two things...things I might otherwise have put back, but wanting to help a local store stay in business tipped the balance for me (I know, I know, BAD frugal mama...) but honestly, I felt so sad for her. And the things I bought will be well-enjoyed. And when I paid, I told her that I hoped she'd do whatever she needed to in order to stay in business. No amount of charade can hide the fact that these shops are all trying pathetically to stay afloat.

And then at the wonderful 100+ year old hardware store, I inquired about locking penknives for the boys. I didn't like their selection but a second clerk pointed my clerk toward some expensive gifty ones. While I was checking out, the second clerk apparently didn't recognize me, and gave the first clerk a bit of a hard time for not making the sale of those expensive knives. I piped up that I would still consider them and the second clerk was clearly embarrassed that I had heard. But I wasn't - there is no shame in trying to save a business during challenging times. However, I am not about to spend $20 on crappy gift-boxed knives for my boys.

All the shops I've been into lately downtown appear to have rearranged their inventory to try and hide the fact that they have less of it. It's obvious to me that they are deliberately not restocking things due to cash flow issues and hoping to recoup as much as possible from what they already have before they consider stocking more stuff to sell.

I don't buy much in those stores, and mostly I window-shop, but I wish I could do something to help them stay in business (other than throw money at them). I like having them there the 2-3x/year when I need something from them. I like the flavor they bring to our town.

I am really hoping that the proprietors are able to evolve their vision of what their shops can offer and move away from the expensive luxury gift market and more into a practical, less pricey market that fits more people's needs and budgets.

I wish more stores would sell locally-crafted items. Perhaps they could sell some things on consignment. At least in our town there are a lot of locally-owned businesses. I don't know what to say about the national chains and big boxes whose approach is not as flexible.

Anyway, this has been on my mind since my shopping trip yesterday. All I can do is shop at the stores I like and hope they can make it.

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

"unable to spend the money I'd planned on!"

Did you just not find what you wanted, or was there some other reason(s)?

I wonder if the existence of internet shopping, with nigh-infinite selections, has made us more picky about specifics than we used to be.

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

I didn't find what I wanted, and in most of those cases they were things I knew I could order online (but was hoping to save time and fees by getting in person). In one case, a store I remembered from that mall is no longer there. In another, the store was there but the items weren't.