Jan 6, 2009
“Shop-local” trend helps boost holiday sales for some Greer retailersBy Anna LeeGreenvilleOnline.com

Greer, SC — While chain store sales across the nation suffered from a dismal holiday shopping season — the worst since at least 1970, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers — some local retailers in Greer found themselves with sales that were just as good, if not better than last year’s holiday season.

Tarra Godfrey, co-owner of Chelsea’s Lady Apparel, said her inventory is low because she sold so much in the weeks that led up to Christmas.

“People appreciated our customer service and not having to stand in long lines for gift-wrapping,” she said.

Godfrey added that she’s had several customers at her downtown Greer store say they were going to start buying exclusively from local independent retailers instead of big department stores.

Scott Whelchel, area manager of the Clemson University Small Business Development Center, said he has become more aware of “shop-local” trends in the past year.

“As fuel prices rose in the last year, many people began to seek out and “re-discover” local businesses,” Whelchel said. “This is a region where people have some local identity and do have access to a wide variety of goods and services locally. … Add that to the chance to avoid mall traffic, and it sounds like a good choice.”

Dobson True Value Hardware also did surprisingly well over the shopping season considering the economic uncertainty, owner Terry Dobson said.

While Dobson experienced a slowdown in November and early December, sales picked up again as Christmas neared.

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