My husband and I own an antique shop. I’ve been a business owner for 24 years and I have always had a Christmas Open House the two days after Thanksgiving. Over the years, we’ve built up a good regular customer base of people that come from everywhere (mostly coming home to visit family). October & November have been slower than the last few years, which have been slower than before.
Today, we had the Open House. There were not as many people as last year, and a lot of my regular travelers were missing. Maybe they’ll show up tomorrow. Money-wise, our sales were OK - nothing to brag about, but we did OK. I know a lot of small business owners (was president of our local merchant’s association for years) that are hanging on by their fingernails. If they don’t have a good Christmas season, I know several that will close. It’s sad to see.
You should of offered some antique flat screen TVs at bargain prices to draw them in. Just sayin’.