BUFFALO, N.Y. — While overall there are reports that the turnout was much lighter than usual at big box stores for Black Friday, another segment of the retail market is focusing on Saturday with hopes for struggling small businesses in Buffalo.
Whether window-shopping on the Elmwood Avenue sidewalks or perusing merchandise in a Hertel Avenue shop, people were out Friday, perhaps raising the spirits of some of those area merchants. They may be really also hoping for a Small Business Saturday success to help wrap up their pandemic-plagued business year.
The emphasis on spending local seems more urgent as Delaware District Councilman Joel Feroleto puts it: "When you purchase from a local retailer, a lot of those gifts were made by artists and artisans from right here in Buffalo. They're buying their materials and other products from other local people."
One of those merchants, Therese Deutschlander, is also board president for the Elmwood Village Association. She owns the Thin Ice store on Elmwood.
She emphasizes: "We're not just getting a bunch of stuff from China and shipping it out the door. So you're supporting a small business, a small entrepreneur, and you're also supporting local artists."
In the past a lot of the small shopkeepers perhaps saw online sales as a threat to in-store purchasing. But with the pandemic and the fact that a lot of these businesses have their own websites now perhaps online browsing is actually a safety tool.
Judy Porta of the Hertel Business Association notes that "all small businesses do have websites, you can shop on that. If you're not comfortable going in, call the store. They'll drop them off to you outside. They'll come to the curb."
Of course they also urge people to go on line as a retail life-line to purchase local gift certificates for future use.
Hertel merchants are even pushing a frequent shopper pennant and store pins program with incentives this year.
So are people getting the shop local message? Some indeed, even a visiting Mom from California.
Maria Contreras, who was shopping with daughter Alyssa Giambra told 2 on Your Side "I think it was important for me to see what Buffalo has to offer. And during this difficult time I think it's really important to support the small businesses because I think they're really struggling."