CHICAGO — Small business owners throughout Chicago are raising the alarm about their futures as sales slow down and the busy holiday shopping season starts, they said.
Black Friday and Small Business Saturday mark a crucial weekend for local shop owners, who rely on the big boost in sales and national focus on independent businesses to make ends meet.
But many shops are still hurting from pandemic shutdowns that started nearly four years ago, owners said. Rising inflation is not helping, making it more expensive to run a business with fewer customers, entrepreneurs said.
Hallie Borden, who owns Andersonville’s Milk Handmade, 5137 N. Clark St., posted about these challenges on Instagram last month, saying this holiday season is “make or break for a lot of local businesses.”
Several fellow business owners responded to the post with their own experiences about business being slow.
Borden and other small business owners say it’s more important than ever to shop at neighborhood stores, take advantage of deals at local shops and promote locally owned businesses on social media — not just this weekend, but year-round.
“Everyone wants to live in a cute little neighborhood full of shops and restaurants, but we’re not decorations,” Borden said. “If you want to live somewhere like that, you have to come out and support these places, otherwise they won’t be here anymore.”
Local Shops Struggle To Compete With Lower Prices, Tighter Budgets
Continuing to grapple with the effects of the pandemic makes it even harder to withstand dips in business, said Merl Kinzie, owner of The SHUDIO, 1152 W. 18th St., in Pilsen.
“A lot of us have gone through a couple of really hard years, but this year seems to be the hardest yet,” said Kinzie, who sells plants, locally made jewelry and vintage clothing. “A bunch of small business owners are in a group chat together, and we’ve all been experiencing this slowdown. It’s not something that we’re doing wrong or that we could change.”
Charlie Wein, director of communications for the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, said he’s heard similar concerns from small business owners who say they’re seeing fewer shoppers than usual this time of year. The nonprofit works one-on-one with small business owners to help them address challenges.
“In the past, we’d see most people get their holiday shopping done by the end of October, but that just hasn’t been happening this year,” Wein said. “I could come up with a thousand reasons why, but it just seems like trends are changing and people are acting differently this year.”
Recently, more people seem to be shopping online or at larger stores to save money, Wein said. Small businesses struggle to compete with big-box stores’ prices, selection and free shipping offers.
“I don’t think there’s any one reason,” Kinzie said. “Student loans are due again, there’s been so much inflation, everything just feels so expensive. You can’t blame people for trying to save money.”
Even small businesses that sell food and other essentials have been struggling recently, said Mia Sakai, who owns curated bodega Ándale Market, 5232 N. Clark St., in Andersonville.
“Sometimes people will stop in, look at what we have on the shelves, take photos and see if they can find it somewhere else for less,” Sakai said. “It’s difficult as a little guy, because you can’t really compete with larger businesses’ prices.”
Although it can be slightly more expensive to shop at local businesses, studies have shown it’s more likely the money you spend at a local shop directly benefits the community it’s in, Wein said.
For every $100 spent at a local business, $68 remains within the Chicago economy, according to the 2004 Andersonville study that inspired American Express to launch Small Business Saturday.
“A lot of local businesses make a significant effort to source their materials from other local businesses,” Wein said. “They promote local artists who might not have their own shops, and they actually create more job opportunities.”
Doing your holiday shopping in local shops is one of the easiest ways to support small businesses, but they also need help advertising, Borden and other local business owners said.
Many larger brands work with online influencers and can afford to spend more money on online advertising, which shifts people’s attention away from small businesses, Kinzie said.
“We’re so grateful when we see customers give us shout-outs on social media because that’s really what helps us get seen,” Kinzie said. “The algorithms can be so tricky to work with, so the more we can get eyes on local businesses, the better.”
After Borden posted about business being slow on Instagram, more people came to the shop and bought items online, she said.
“It made me optimistic about people’s ability to change,” Borden said. “I don’t think anyone has bad intentions when they choose not to support local businesses. I just think they don’t really consider what they’re potentially losing when they’re trying to save time and money.”
Exploring your neighborhood, making small purchases and sending your group chat recommendations can go a long way, Kinzie said.
“I think it’s really just about getting back in front of people’s eyes and helping them reconnect with the small businesses in their neighborhood,” Kinzie said.
Andersonville Chamber of Commerce launched the social media campaign “Love It Like A Local” to help people reconnect with neighborhood spots, Wein said. Each post highlights a local business and its impact on the community in the format of a dating profile with hand-drawn images.
“These places are more than just retail businesses,” Wein said. “The idea is to date your neighborhood, build a relationship with these businesses and learn more about them. They’re not faceless corporations. They’re run by regular people who open businesses to do what they love and provide opportunities for people in the city.”
The chamber also hosts events with the goal of introducing people to local businesses and attracting more shoppers to the neighborhood.
For Small Business Saturday, Chamber of Commerce organizers will pass out “small business passports” at The Understudy, 5531 N. Clark St.
People can use the passport to track their spending at small businesses throughout the neighborhood, then return it for the chance to win gift cards to local stores.
Want to shop local this holiday season? Check out more than 130 local businesses in Block Club’s Gift Guide.
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Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. Already subscribe? Click here to gift a subscription, or you can support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.
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