Kamelah Adams’ line of t-shirts and clothing promoting social justice causes, Mimi’s Fresh Tees, attracted a lot of sales during the national racial justice movement in 2020 and 2021.
This year has been more difficult, she said.
“I’m trying to stay optimistic because I know it’s kind of hard right now with inflation and rising costs for a lot of people,” she said. “And that’s why I want to make sure I have the right price range. Everything is already quite reasonably priced here.”
Small businesses in the Portland area are preparing for another holiday season in the age of COVID-19, this time with inflation and recession concerns at the forefront of consumers’ minds.
Many are moving into this traditionally busy time of year for retailers looking to reach customers while they’re still in the spending mood — and before a possible economic downturn, even a mild one, closes their wallets.
Adams recently moved her store from Old Town to a downtown Portland storefront near Southwest 10th Avenue and Morrison Street, where she has invited several other women-owned companies to show and sell their wares. . The “holiday pop-up collective” will feature guest items including Essance skincare, Crystal Ball Botanicals and Vietnamese sauces from Tân Tân in Beaverton.
“We really wanted to support other women-owned businesses with a big focus on BIPOC women-owned businesses because some of them don’t have a retail space,” Adams said. “It is important, especially during the holidays and in general, that women have a permanent place to sell their goods. Because that is true equality.”
To entice shoppers, Adams will be hosting Black Friday and Small Business Saturday deals.
The City of Portland is also giving away $150,000 in publicly funded gift cards, which can be redeemed at participating downtown businesses like Mimi’s Fresh Tees, at the Pioneer Courthouse Square tree lighting on Nov. 25.
But after two relatively strong holiday shopping seasons, spending this year may be more muted. A strong job market, rising wages and government stimulus gave consumers more discretionary income to spend on holiday gifts last year, according to Julie Bryan, a retail analyst based in Lake Oswego.
To prepare for this holiday season, Bryan said many retailers have ordered inventory early to avoid the supply chain disruptions they experienced the past two holiday seasons.
Many businesses, she said, are also trying to get an early start on sales by offering deals earlier than Black Friday.
“Every retailer wants to get as much of their share of the consumer’s wallet as they can,” Bryan said. “And this year many businesses expect to see more people shopping in person, and we’re already seeing that. People are buying and buying.”
Deena Spang, who manages The Arrangement in Northeast Portland, said the clothing and home goods store has overcome supply chain and labor shortage issues in the past two years. But this year, she said supply chain issues haven’t been as bad and there are more people on staff.
Spang said holiday sales make up a large portion of the store’s annual revenue, making it a critical time for business.
Deena Spang, manager and buyer at The Arrangement on Northeast Fremont Street, arranges ornaments and decor on a tree on Nov. 15, 2022.Christine de Leon
“Usually we start planning for the holiday season in January and start securing orders early in the year,” she said. “And we’ve put a lot of effort into looking for new things that we think customers will love. In other words, we always try to keep our inventory fresh and offer new surprises so people want to keep coming back.”
During the pandemic, she said the store opened a website to stay afloat, but, this year, they are doing more in-person sales.
“It’s been an interesting few years to say the least. I think the thing about Portland that got us through it is the shop-local mentality,” Spang said. “I think the community really tries to support local businesses, and so I feel pretty confident about that. holiday … and I think more people are shopping in person.”
Some analysts expect shoppers to continue spending freely this holiday season, despite inflation choking their disposable incomes and predictions of a looming recession.
“We expect year-end spending to be a final rush for households,” said Shannon Seery, a New York-based Wells Fargo economist. “They have room to keep spending in the short term, but it’s not sustainable.”
In a report on holiday spending, Wells Fargo said US households’ cash reserves, built up over the previous two years, had begun to decline, “a sign that may indicate that consumer power is beginning to wane.”
“We are gradually seeing that families withdraw from goods and purchases. It’s been a little slower than we anticipated,” said Seery. “But basically, families will continue to spend throughout the holidays. It’s really the most normal holiday season they’ve had in three years.”
Hannah Price, who runs The Union, the retail space for her family’s business, Dana Herbert Accessories on Northeast Broadway Street, is shown in her store on Nov. 15, 2022.Christine de Leon
For Hannah Price, who runs The Union, the retail space for her family’s business, Dana Herbert Accessories on Northeast Broadway Street, the return to normalcy this year has brought more traffic to her store.
“We had the luxury of focusing on making face masks when the pandemic hit,” she said of the family business. “We had not opened the store at all. We did all the retailing online.”
Price said the retail store reopened this year and has since seen a rapid shift to in-store sales.
The family business is also bringing back its annual holiday sample sale. Every year since 1998, the family had rented a ballroom and tennis courts at the Irvington Club for its one-day holiday sale — until the pandemic forced a two-year hiatus.
“It’s something we’ve been doing for a long time before Christmas,” Price said. “It’s usually our busiest sales day … so we’re excited to get back to it.”
— Christine de Leon; kdeleon@oregonian.com
Correction: This post has been edited to correct the location of Mimi’s Fresh Tees on Southwest Morrison Street.
