It should all be gravy for island merchants offering post-Thanksgiving deals.
Several business owners running Black Friday and Small Business Saturday promotions expect strong sales volume at their establishments through the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and beyond.
The island’s “endless season,” which began in late 2020, the return of European visitors previously subject to pandemic travel bans and visitation from vacationers displaced from their rentals in areas decimated by Hurricane Ian likely will bolster business from Thanksgiving through Easter, the owners said.
At Original Sand Dollar, owner Julia Duytschaver said Nov. 9 that at the Island Shopping Center in Holmes Beach, where her boutique is located, it’s busier than in years past.
“I feel like we didn’t get a slowdown,” she said. “There was a week in September it was quiet but ever since it’s been busy.”
Snowbirds and an influx of customers from Germany, France and England have begun to patronize her homeware, candle, jewelry and holiday decor shop in greater numbers but the bulk of her weekday business has come from out-of-state weeklong vacationers.
The shop experienced an uptick in business after it posted images of its Christmas decor to social media.
Duytschaver, going into her third season as owner, experiences strong patronage from locals on weekends and will lean into the trend by offering raffle prizes, Christmas ornaments and discounts on Small Business Saturday on Nov. 26.
“What I’ve seen the last two years, a lot of people, it’s fun for them to go out and support local businesses on Saturday,” she said. “There are groups of people that I know from Bradenton, it’s the thing to do, to go shopping that day.”
Aside from a few quieter weeks in January, when snowbirds return home between holidays, Duytschaver expects business to remain strong through Easter, which this year is April 9.
In Anna Maria, Q’s Boutique and Custom Wood Creations owner Lisa Luu is optimistic about her first holiday season in the island’s northernmost city.
Luu moved her store from Bradenton Beach’s Bridge Street to a space adjacent to Slim’s Place and next to the Porch restaurant on Gulf Drive in April to access a family-oriented market.
After strong Labor Day sales, the shop had a period “so dead it was worrisome,” Luu said Nov. 9.
However, business picked up a few weeks ago, when German and Swiss customers and an influx of out-of-state tourists came to the rescue.
Almost monthly, Luu stages “trailer events” at the shop.
On Black Friday and Small Business Saturday on Nov. 25-26, the Iowa native will haul out wooden furniture crafted by her husband, Rowdy Nail, and offer a 15% discount on everything in the store.
The shop’s furniture, made of wood reclaimed from a dilapidated barn and trees on Luu and Nail’s Hawkeye State property, has been a hit with local buyers and Luu said she hopes to see a steady stream of Bradenton-area shoppers during Thanksgiving weekend.
North of Q’s along Gulf Drive, Anna Maria Rocks has experienced strong business volume since new owner Priya Weiman-Parikh and her husband, David, took over the jewelry, gem and fossil shop in late April.
“In retail, you’re always worried about seasonality but the island seems impervious to that,” Weiman-Parikh said Nov. 9. “We had a slightly lower period toward the end of summer but it was only about two and a half weeks.”
Historically, peak season for the shop has been late spring and early summer but Weiman-Parikh anticipates sales to surpass April-June levels in the fourth quarter of the year due to Hurricane Ian.
“Unfortunately, with the damage that happened a little farther south from Hurricane Ian, we’ve been seeing a lot of people who had to reshuffle their vacation plans and come up here,” Weiman-Parikh said.
“We just had a family come in, just now, from New Jersey. The whole family, grandparents, the four kids,” she said. “And they were supposed to go to Sanibel but that’s not, unfortunately, an option anymore.”
The former commercial banker said she’s also heard a high number of vacationers who couldn’t visit due to the hurricane have rebooked.
Based on customer feedback, the shop has expanded its handmade jewelry offerings, a move Weiman-Parikh said has paid dividends and will through Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s.
In anticipation of the holiday season, the shop has begun expanding its giftable items.
“We’re just thinking about everyone on the gift list,” Weiman-Parikh said. “And one of the main things we’re doing is rebranding our handmade jewelry collections. For example, we’ll have necklaces that include crystals said to help with anti-anxiety, leadership and self-confidence.”
“So we’ll kind of identify qualities that people want to adopt for the new year and then find a piece that will line up with that,” she said.
For repeat customers on the hunt for something a little different this holiday season, the shop is offering unique items, such as fossilized rhinoceros teeth.
On Black Friday, the shop will offer discounts.
On Bridge Street, Cove owner Kelley Headley said Nov. 11 she’s satisfied with recent foot traffic to her art gallery and boutique.
“It’s been really good,” Headley said. “It’s not as crazy busy as last year but I’m still in that kind of mind frame where I’m just grateful to be here from the hurricane. We had essentially no damage. Our island is fine. I still have a business and I still have a home.”
The past two years, Cove — an ocean-themed shop specializing in local artwork, crystals and books — has been “crazy busy” during Thanksgiving weekends.
Headley, who expects the trend to continue, will offer discounts on wall art in the gallery on Black Friday and a free shell candle with every purchase on Small Business Saturday.
Beyond Thanksgiving, Headley predicts sales and business volume to be similar to last year.
“I think with hurricane season behind us, people are coming down. And that potential influx of people that can’t go elsewhere, I think it’s going to be good,” she said. “I’m optimistic for sure and preparing thus with inventory.”