KANSAS CITY, Mo — This year's holiday season is marked by a spirit of resilience as neighborhood small businesses struggle with an alarming drop in Christmas sales.
The pandemic and an increasing dominance of online shopping and big retail names have cast a shadow over the holiday season for many cherished Kansas City establishments, like Midcoast Modern located in Westport.
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“We've noticed a trend over the years of it starting a little bit later each year. Whereas Small Business Saturday used to be like the big day for us and a lot of other brands, like small companies, that's not really the case anymore," said Matt Bramlette, owner of the store. "So it's just a little bit more pushed back and as we get a little bit closer, it just ramps up even faster."
Small business owners face particular challenges during the holidays, especially as the famous Country Club Plaza and other local shopping districts are usually buzzing with holiday cheer. The large selection and ease of online shopping provided by retail giants have drawn customers away from the small neighborhood storefronts.
“It's a little bit harder to prepare for forecasting for holidays because sales have been so low, you just don't really know, is it going to pick up at the last second?" Bramlette said. "It's a little bit of a challenge."
Bramlette said aside of e-commerce taking over, more people are working from home since the pandemic, which is why many local stores have seen less foot traffic around the area.
“People aren't just walking around and discovering things on their lunch break," Bramlette said. "That's one of the trends. There's definitely an inflation thing happening this year that's been felt by a lot of people.”
Despite the challenges, Midcoast Modern remains committed to providing a unique shopping experience that goes beyond just a transaction. The store offers a variety of different gifts for the holidays: home decor, jewelry, t-shirts and their specialty of candles. Most importantly, Bramlette said nothing beats the feeling of helping out your neighborhood stores.
“I think the small businesses are more unique in general. It's just a really community-based thing," he reflected. "We support, we don't only hire people locally, but we buy a lot of things from local brands here."
As shoppers scramble to make their last-minute buys this holiday season, Bramlette said a small help goes a long way.
“It is very important to us. It's been a little bit of a hard year. We really appreciate all the return customers that we have, and it would be great if people would just do a little bit of their shopping locally," Bramlette said.
Midcoast Modern also offers a variety of its good-finds online.
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