Shop Small Saturday boosts local economy

By: 
Jill Meier, BV Journal editor

Santa Claus shows 4-year-old Brecken Coughlin a little “candy cane love” during his afternoon stop at Oakridge Nursery & Landscaping during Shop Small Saturday. Santa’s visit to Brandon was one of the many highlights of the shopping local holiday promotion. For more photos from Shop Small Saturday, check out the photo gallery at  brandonvalleyjournal.com.  

Jill Meier/BV Journal

Jill Meier

Journal editor 

 

E

llison Cutrer was beaming with excitement as she surveyed the line of eager shoppers waiting to get inside the doors of Gypsy Trading Co. on Shop Small Saturday. 

“We had our very first line out the door!” Cutrer announced. “Dave (Christopherson) took pictures of the parking lot with his drone, and the only spots open were the three handicapped parking spots. There were people parked along the curb, and they even jumped the curb.”

That line of shoppers – and more who paraded through the doors on Saturday – constituted a new record sales day for the store. Cutrer said Saturday’s sales well surpassed last year’s holiday shopping promotion in their former Cedar Street location.

“Shop Small Saturday was our biggest day at the old store, and it’s well on its way – actually I think we’re already there – for being our best sales day ever,” Cutrer said.

That same attitude – and shopper traffic – was also found just down the road at Matt Jorgenson’s 1948 Trading Co.

“We are seeing a lot of new shoppers here this year,” Jorgenson shared. “The Shop Small movement has really caught on, and we really appreciate all of the great support we’re receiving from Sioux Falls, all of the surrounding communities and Brandon itself, it’s been really good.”

Christmas décor at 20 percent off and packaged soup mixes were two of the hot items being plucked from the shelves, Jorgenson said. 

“They have been going like hotcakes today,” he noted.

Jorgenson credits the local and national promotion of the American Express-created event and Saturday’s unseasonably warm weather for the brisk business.

“It’s such a great opportunity - Nov. 25th and its 60 degrees outside and people are in here shopping, so that means a lot to me,” he said.

For Brandon resident, Judy VonDeLinde, Shop Small Saturday provides her the opportunity to shop for gifts and have her annual photo taken with Santa. She was one of a variety of “kids of all ages” who ventured to First National Bank for her Christmas card photo opp.

VonDeLinde said she believes in shopping local, and encourages others to do so, too. 

“Everything’s right here within a mile or two,” she said. “It’s great, everyone’s friendly and it’s fun. There’s so much community spirit, school spirit here, and that’s great.”

Her granddaughter, Kelsey Koupal was one of many eager shoppers who waited in line to get in the doors at beautique Saturday morning. 

“We heard that people had been standing there since 9:15,” she reports. 

The long line is what steered VonDeLinde to the Bank, where she later met up with family.

“I went to beautique and Gypsy Trading Co. and you couldn’t find a place to park, so I went to The Warehouse,” she said. 

Angela Danielson brought her three sons, James, 13, Matthew,10, and six-year-old Luke to First National for their annual photo with Santa. The photos, she said, are displayed in ornaments on the family Christmas tree. 

When Santa asked the youngest of the Danielson brothers what he wanted for Christmas, Luke’s initial response was “unsure.” With a little prodding from Santa, Luke quickly remembered the Denver Bronco’s football he’s been hoping for.

Brandon resident Kaelee Krege took a welcome break from the shopping action on a bench for sale at Gypsy Trading Co. 

“We have relatives in town from Nebraska, so we brought them out to shop,” said Krege, who’s also a proponent for shopping local. 

“I love it!” she said. “We need more of that to keep money local. Even though it was hard to find a parking spot, it’s the perfect ‘busy-ness.’”

Category:

The Brandon Valley Journal

 

The Brandon Valley Journal
1404 E. Cedar St.
Brandon, SD 57005
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