Sonoma County retailers feeling jolly this holiday season with good foot traffic

With just over a week remaining until Christmas, Drew Washer said she felt good about the pace of holiday sales at her Heebe Jeebe toy and gift shop in downtown Petaluma — especially after another challenging year in retail.

Washer’s hopeful outlook comes as brick-and-mortar merchants have still not fully recovered from the pandemic’s economic fallout — and as concern now mounts over spread of the omicron variant.

Washer suffered another blow during October’s historic atmospheric river. A leak in her store’s roof caused thousands of dollars of damage. She is still wrangling with her insurance carrier on that case.

Her business, however, is up about 30% in sales over comparable past years, as last-minute shoppers look for stocking stuffers and novelty gifts. Hot sellers this year include whoopee cushions and squeezable balls designed to relieve stress.

“My store runs on inspiration. It’s not a formula store,” said Washer, a toy vendor since 1999. “We live in a really great area. We have challenges. … I feel we are pretty optimistic in our community and pretty forward-thinking.”

Across Sonoma County, other independent retailers shared their hopes for brisk business amid a crucial season for their bottom line. The months of November and December represent almost 20% of overall sales for retailers over the past five-year period, according to National Retail Federation.

The trade group noted that 179.8 million shoppers made in-store and online purchases during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, which was 21 million above projections. But that turnout was below the 186.4 million shoppers in 2020, as pent-up consumer demand, savings and government aid combined in the pandemic’s first year to fuel an aggressive end-of-year shopping surge.

Besides being a good barometer on the sentiment of the average consumer, the local retail industry also plays a key role in the Sonoma County economy. About 23,000 local workers are in retail, representing about 11% of the total.

Retailers also provide a backbone for downtown development, from the Wine Country destinations of Sonoma and Healdsburg to urban revitalization underway in fits and starts in Santa Rosa.

“It’s important based on how our infrastructure sets up downtown,” said Sonoma State University economist Robert Eyler, who studies the local economy.

The future of commercial retail space will be a pressing issue going forward in the age of COVID-19, especially with more people shopping online, Eyler added.

Traditional malls such as Santa Rosa Plaza have been hit especially hard by store closures, though outdoor shopping centers that focus on local retailers such as Montgomery Village in Santa Rosa and The Barlow in Sebastopol have fared better.

“There are a lot of different angles on brick-and-mortar retail, especially locally owned,” Eyler said.

Local retailers said they are seeing a rise in 2021 sales over previous years. Bernie Schwartz, owner of California Luggage Co. on Fourth Street in Santa Rosa, said he has seen an uptick in store traffic as people look to travel more in the new year.

“Travel has been on people’s minds for quite a while now. And with increased vaccination, there’s more possibilities, although international travel is still lagging, but is on the horizon,” said Schwartz, whose store has been downtown for 41 years.

“It’s been a steady climb throughout the year, but starting I’d say August, we started beating 2019 (numbers),” Schwartz said.

His business has weathered supply-chain issues that have rocked other retailers, including auto sales.

The crisis delayed imports from Asia as ships stacked up in major ports. Truck drivers and warehouse space also have been in short supply.

“Our strategy was to over-order like crazy, starting in the spring,” Schwartz said. “We’re in pretty good shape.”

Washer said she put her orders in early as well and used multiple distributors, though that resulted in certain popular products arriving all at once, as opposed to staggered arrivals like in past years.

The view from Copperfield’s Books, with 10 North Bay locations, can serve as another snapshot of the region’s economy. The Sebastopol store pivoted to online sales at the onset of the pandemic and struggled under a December 2020 public health order that mandated retailers limit foot traffic to 20% of capacity during last winter’s spike, putting a crimp in holiday sales, co-owner Paul Jaffe said.

This year is different. Even with the growing concern over the new variant, sales at the bookstore are up about 20% compared to 2019, Jaffe said.

“Things are looking really good. I’m very grateful and thankful for the holiday season so far,” he said. “I think there is just a pent-up (demand) of wanting to go into the stores and browse.”

Publishers were prepared to get out their books before any supply disruptions, though some calendar companies were not so lucky, Jaffe said. Looking ahead, Copperfield’s is seeking to revive in-person author events, though that will depend on the extent of virus transmission and health protocols.

Virtual events don’t attract the same level of audience, Jaffe noted.

“That’s a significant amount of business that we just have not got back yet. We hope that we will get back as soon as we feel comfortable, the authors feel comfortable and the public feels comfortable. That’s going to need the support of all three of those,” Jaffe said.

Even with challenges, some are seeing opportunity, such as Mercedes Hernandez, owner of the popular Bow N Arrow Clothing in Cotati. In late October, she opened a new store on Santa Rosa’s Fourth Street called Holee Vintage, which offers classic Nike shoes and Levi’s jeans as well as items from local producers such as candles and jewelry.

“We didn’t have anything like this in Sonoma County. We have received such a great response from the community. It has been doing really well,” Hernandez said of her new store. “Vintage and thrifting have always been in my roots. I’d wanted to do it for years.”

Between the two stores, she has about a dozen employees. She’s also opened a warehouse space in Cotati to cater to the increased home-based shopping during the pandemic.

Like other boutique clothing vendors in the area, Hernandez has found having both a physical and online marketplace is crucial to survive in her trade.

“It was definitely a pivotal point because if your business is yearning to grow and you don’t act on it in that moment, then you are at risk of losing so much,” Hernandez said. “I knew if I didn’t hop on that boat, it was going to sail.”

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 707-521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.