Ready for Retail Therapy
Shopping is about sensations.
When you see something you like, you stop to listen or touch or smell or — sometimes — taste it before deciding to make it part of your life.
And though the popularity of online shopping can't be denied, there are still many shoppers who like the experience of walking down a store aisle.
“To be honest, I like shopping in person,” said Diana Russell, of Grove City, who was shopping in Cranberry Township recently. “I need to see the color. I need to feel the fabric.”
Russell said that's certainly true when it comes to buying furniture, a step she's planning to take after months of dealing with pandemic precautions.
Chad Beatty, owner of J.M. Beatty Furniture and Mattress in Washington Township, confirmed that in his business, customers like to test things out before investing money in a purchase.
“They want to lay on the mattresses and sit on the sofas to buy them,” said Beatty, whose family established the furniture company in 1914.
Shopping evolutionIt's common knowledge how the pandemic disrupted many of the sense-oriented habits shoppers developed over hundreds of years.When the state went into a pandemic-induced shutdown in March, many stores that depend on walk-in traffic and face-to-face sales closed.Businesses were forced to find new ways to reach customers. Customers were forced to find new ways to shop.Beatty said he witnessed a shopping evolution first-hand. His customers went from buying what they could touch to buying what they could see: Wood products listed on the company website.Beatty said his company made about $80,000 in sales between closing in March and reopening May 15. Customers seemed to gravitate toward items like tables and dressers, which they didn't have to sit or lay on to try.Beatty Furniture is now about $7,000 ahead of where it was this time last year, according to Beatty.“That was by June first,” Beatty said.
Diamond in the rough The jewelry business seems to be booming, too. Emigh Jewelry Co., which has had locations in Butler County for about 40 years, was closed for two months this spring.It returned to regular operating hours when the county went yellow at its store at 540 Butler Crossings.“It's been like Christmas for us,” said Bob Emigh, owner. “I think a lot of people fell in love during the pandemic.”Emigh said a number of customers are now coming to the store with ideas like remounted settings for diamonds.Emigh said the estimated 10 weeks when many people stayed home allowed for idea sharing via social media. Though Emigh Jewelry Company wasn't physically open, Emigh said it did stay in touch with customers online.But Emigh said the company is mostly “back (to) doing things the way we always did,” with the exception of extensive disinfecting practices and optional customer face wear.
Shop comfortable The idea, according to Emigh, is to serve customers however they feel most comfortable being served.“We try to blend in with the customer,” Emigh said.Beatty said his business is also adapting to customer needs. Delivery services, for example, now include rubber gloves for workers. Homeowners are asked to wait in a separate room while furniture is installed.Beatty said learning from pandemic sales, the company will be rearranging its online inventory to feature wood products instead of things like recliners and couches.“We're just going to display different vendors differently,” Beatty said.Rosie Myers, an Erie native who attended Slippery Rock University and sometimes returns to Cranberry Township for shopping, said her shopping experience hasn't changed too much during the pandemic when it comes to testing products like clothes.“I don't usually use dressing rooms, anyway,” Myers said.Still, she saw much of her shopping go from being an in-person experience to being a virtual one this spring.“I was just shopping online,” Myers said. “That's kind of tough.”Myers said her biggest challenge when it comes to ordering from websites is knowing product quality.James Chiprean, who runs Miller's Shoes on Main Street in Butler, said his business depends on foot traffic.“We're definitely seeing a pick up in sales,” Chiprean said.As a shoe store, Miller's Shoes' customers do try on products before making purchases. Employees wear masks, stand behind protective shields and clean after working with customers. But in the end, it's the customers who dictate how a shopping experience will go.
Business continues“Every day's a new revelation,” Chiprean said.The pandemic has taught him some things as a business owner. For instance, delivery procedures implemented during the shutdown may lead to a designated long-term delivery space down the street.Returns or exchanges are another element Miller's Shoes needs to take into consideration. Chiprean said the store's policies haven't changed. But merchandise brought back to the store is quarantined.“We would hold it out of circulation ... for a certain period of time,” Chiprean said.Getting the local economy back up on its feet is a matter of teamwork, according to Chiprean.The success of municipal leadership, businesses and customers is circular, he believes. Helping businesses return to normal operations helps communities thrive.“They're all connected,” Chiprean said. “Everything helps the economy.”Emigh said he's been “pleasantly surprised” how well business has picked up.Beatty doesn't find the bounceback as unexpected. He believes between receiving government assistance, not going on summer vacations and saving money on normal expenses, many people who weren't working during the shutdown now have a little extra to invest.“They're investing it back into their homes,” Beatty said.Beatty believes because the economy was stable before the pandemic hit, many people were also better prepared to face three months of interrupted income.“It's either feast or famine,” Beatty said. “At least we're eating.”Russell said she's happy to return to in-person shopping, even if stores require her to adhere to pandemic safety measurements.“Things are easing,” Russell said. “I don't mind wearing a mask.”Beatty, Emigh and Chiprean — who all lead local businesses generations old — said their businesses have never seen a shutdown like the one that happened this spring.It's just one more trial they can say their companies have faced and made it through.“We've seen it all,” Beatty said.“This is one for the record,” Chiprean said. “Hopefully, the worst of it is over.”
