Black Friday?

Everyone knows by now why today has this name... it was traditionally the day that retailers got out of the red and into the black in their accounting books. Now there is Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and wholesalers are giving Black Friday promotions to their buyers because of shorter lead times in getting product to the shelves.

Small retailers tend to get left out of all the Black Friday hooplah. Downtown, Main Street mom-and-pops; we're not in the malls. We don't benefit from all the media frenzy, the advertising onslaught, the walkby traffic. In fact, here at Gould, at 2pm on Black Friday, I have had three customers come in. Not exactly doorbusting.

And what are all those mall shoppers buying today? They are getting some good deals, on things that people want. But a lot of us small retailers think that the "Big Boxes" have so homogenized the market, people must be starting to get bored.

National grassroots campaigns like The 3/50 Project strive to impact people's shopping habits by giving them incentives to shop locally. Phoenixville merchants are launching our own 3/50 Project and continue to urge customers to look for the Local List coupon booklets around town. (Find more information on these programs at www.discoverphoenixville.com and www.the350project.net)

So what should you do tomorrow? When you've shopped the mall and are feeling dissatisfied and harried from that experience? When waiting in long lines, listening to blaring Christmas music, and being greeted, rung up and pushed out the door without even a smile, when all these things aren't enough anymore?

Find your nearest downtown shopping community, and SHOP! I guarantee you, it is a much more pleasant experience. Browsing more unique items, some that can't be found anywhere else, having an interaction with a store owner while they assist you in finding the perfect present for stuffy Aunt Martha... what could be a better shopping experience? Here at Gould, we will be serving some homemade cookies, and we sure do look forward to seeing you!

What better time to start this blog than the start of the Holiday Shopping season in Phoenixville, PA! Jeff and Christie are busy getting the storefront decorated and filled with new and exciting merchandise, as well as working on the early-bird Custom Framing and Printing orders that have come in for Christmas! Lots of exciting stuff to come...