Oct 30, 2008

On Main Street, Shops Partner to Make Registers RingBy Cindy PermanCNBC.com

Oswego, NY — Gas prices may have come down but with the economy in a tailspin and consumer confidence at its lowest since 1967, small shop owners are taking preventive measures in order to survive what is expected to be the worst holiday season in years.

Pat Hansen, owner of the Hand of Man holiday gift shop in Owego, NY, is teaming up with other local shop owners to drive business this holiday season.

Pat Hansen says she hasn’t yet seen a slowdown in sales at the Hand of Man, a gift shop brimming with twinkling holiday vignettes in Owego, N.Y., but said she plans to skip a January trade show in Atlanta, where she usually buys all of her inventory for the year. Instead, she plans to buy her inventory straight from catalogs and may take a quick trip to New York City.

“This year, I think we’ll be a little cautious because I really don’t know what’s going to happen next year,” said Hansen, who’s owned the shop for 30 years. Her biggest concern is what will happen if the crunch starts to affect credit cards, which account for at least three-fourths of her sales.

In order to lure more shoppers downtown this holiday season, Owego will be holding two big events, the “Holiday Showcase” and “Lights on the River Fest.” Hansen and other local Owego merchants are also teaming up on advertising, including a joint ad campaign on a local TV station that spans 13 counties.

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