Retailers challenged but optimistic for holiday shopping

Nov. 8—MANKATO — As the holiday shopping season kicks off this month, stores aren't facing forced closures, social distancing requirements or a government-ordered mask policy. Yet the year is anything but normal.

Despite fewer restrictions, many, including half of the top major chain stores, are continuing to offer curbside service after finding customers appreciate the convenience.

And while consumer demand is strong, retailers' ability to serve customers is hampered by a severe worker shortage and supply chain disruptions.

Robin Hanson, the new manager of River Hills Mall, said tenants are facing a labor shortage. "And the mall itself is, too. We still have to keep everything clean and secure in the mall."

Bruce Nustad, president of the Minnesota Retailers Association, said retailers going into the holidays have traditionally worried about two things: how to engage customers and determine what they want.

Not so much this year. He said the worry is now on having enough workers and getting inventory to the stores.

Nustad said the worker shortage has led some stores to trim their open hours.

For many of the small specialty shops in Mankato and North Mankato, owners tend to shoulder much of the load for waiting on customers and aren't so reliant on needing to hire extra help during the holidays. Still, even being short one worker in a small shop puts more burden on the owner and sometimes their family members.

Encore Consignment & Bridal Boutique and ARTifact paint your own pottery in Old Town Mankato are focused on continuing to claw back business hurt by the pandemic.

Kim Ruby of ARTifact said her customer numbers are coming back compared to last year when indoor painting parties were scant, but business is nonetheless lagging. "I'm hoping the birthday parties pick up more this winter when the weather gets cold again. Business is still down. I'm doing maybe 60% or 70% of normal yet."

Kim Stanton of Encore said Old Town has more events planned this year, which should help bring people to the area and help push customer numbers higher after a tough 2020.

"Thank heavens there are events and vendors going on a lot. People are excited to get back out and buy new things. I have the feeling people aren't as afraid as they used to be."

Extended Black Friday

A trend that began several years ago and accelerated during the pandemic is stretching out the Black Friday shopping event. While Black Friday was traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year for most retailers, many started offering Black Friday-type discounts starting a week or more before and after it.

"Black Friday is still big, but you're seeing the deal days spread out more," Nustad said. "That really happened more last year to avoid having crowds in stores. You'll see that again this year whether you're a big retailer or a small one."

At ARTifact, the holiday season from mid-November through Christmas has always been a busy time.

"It picks up before the holidays. We get groups in who have people visiting from out of town," Ruby said.

She said local businesses also bring in groups of employees for pottery painting team-building parties. "It's a fun team-building activity, something different. People get to see artistic skills of their colleagues that they maybe didn't know about."

Ruby said the holiday boost is welcomed because her business tends to have a lull when school starts and sports and other activities ramp up.

"Hopefully we're on an upswing now with people feeling more confident going out."

While in-store parties are rebounding, Ruby continues to offer a service where people order pieces online and pick them up, along with paint, to do projects at home. They then drop them off for firing at the shop and come back later to pick up the finished piece.

Stanton's Encore shop is a sort of an antidote to the hustle and bustle of the long Black Friday shopping events. "People come here for a break, to relax during the holiday shopping buzz."

Like most smaller stores in the city center, Encore also gets a good boost from the Shop Small event, held each year the Saturday after Black Friday. "We always have a good turnout for that. The passport program they run helps, and people are excited to get out. It's a big day."

Greater Mankato Growth is also sponsoring a Kato Local Holiday Experience for small businesses. Running from Nov. 19-28, it features a variety of promotions and events.

River Hills Mall

River Hills Mall is heading into the season under new ownership.

This summer Kohan Retail Investment Group, based in New York state, bought River Hills from Brookfield Properties for $29.4 million. Kohan has been purchasing malls across the country, including the Burnsville Center, and has a portfolio of about 50 malls.

Hanson recently started as the new manager of River Hills. A St. James native, she has three decades of experience in retail, including 14 years in management, most recently managing a mall in the Las Vegas area.

She said River Hills will be more back to normal than last year, including having Santa on hand to visit with kids and take pictures.

Hanson said hours of individual stores and anchor stores in the building will be on the mall's website.

Like the past few years, many stores are not opening on Thanksgiving Day.

She said all retailers have faced challenges from online shopping, but River Hills remains in a strong position.

"The pandemic and Amazon have hurt retailers. Amazon was a big change, and then when COVID hit, even more people went toward Amazon."

But she said some new stores are coming into River Hills as well as added kiosks during the holidays.

"This mall is doing quite well as a regional mall. (The new owners) will continue with the path it's on and continue with the success it's had. In the retail industry today, this mall is definitely thriving."