Area Businesses Reflect On End Of Holiday Shopping Season

By Dean Wright, The Bristol Press

December 28, 2021

With the holiday shopping season wrapping up, some area businesses reflected over the year and end of year sales as the march towards 2022 closes in.

Owner of Unknown Clothing Maciah Clark in New Britain said business has been good, but shipping has been the biggest challenge.

“Holiday business has been pretty good for us ever since Black Friday. That’s when it really kicked off,” said Clark. “From then up until now, everything has been pretty steady. Christmas Eve will be hectic for all those last minute shopping. With the town doing free parking during the holiday season, that helps a lot.”

Clark said a lot of last minute shoppers were looking for whatever they can find in a specific clothing size for someone because was sold out elsewhere. He encouraged them to start a bit earlier next year.

“With the shortage of product and the way shipping is going for stores and the way things are unavailable now, if you start a little earlier it would probably be easier to access those pieces you’re looking for,” he said. “Sizing is limited for what you can get shipped in at certain times.”

In Bristol, Reboot Computer Sales and Service Owner David Mariani said shipping has also been a challenge for computer products but he’s grateful for the support he’s received through the year when other businesses may have suffered.

“We’re a little different every year because we don’t get mobbed Black Friday,” said Mariani. “Most of ours (business) is repair so our sales are generated around there… Overall, retail has been quiet this year but repairs have been okay. We did see a definite spike (in business) when we announced we were going into retail again about six months ago.”

The owner said he had several positive reactions from area customers as the business marched on despite pandemic-related challenges.

“(Deliveries) have been unpredictable,” said Mariani. “It definitely affects what we can offer and how we try to get stuff. Sometimes that affects repairs because we can’t (get a part) where it used to be a couple of days.”

Reboot has been in Bristol for over a decade, he said, and look forward to continuing serving the community.

Chocolatier and owner of It! Candy, in Forestville, Karen Masi said the lead up to holidays is always a big time of year for her and shopping holidays like Black Friday take form in her sales as holiday countdowns get closer. She doesn’t experience sales in the same way as a retail store might, but she still gets to see those moments in a different way.

“Everything has been wonderful and everything is going the way I anticipate it,” said Masi. “I’ve been wonderfully busy for the last two weeks and this last week has been my busiest.”

Masi said this year has been better for her in comparison to last year as well. She called it a blessing. She noted she did not have any orders for candy yet before New Year’s Eve as orders slowed down after Christmas but she occasionally had customers order more after receiving their gifts over the holiday.

Longtime toy shop owner Steve Amato of Amato’s Toy and Hobby in New Britain said the entire week leading up to Christmas has also been a busy time for him. He said usually the two days prior to Christmas or the weekend prior often seem busiest.

“I think this year was a little different because people started (shopping) a little early because of the scare of not being able to get stuff,” said Amato. “Now, we’re down to the last minute and last minute is always last minute. I just can’t get in the mood to go Christmas shopping in October. Some like to have all of their boxes checked off. I’m not in the Christmas spirit until after Thanksgiving.”

It’s all dependent on the individual, he added. Customers are more likely to come and shop in area retail stores, especially if they realize they’re not getting the item they ordered through shipping as gift-giving deadlines approach.

“We also get a lot of lifetime customers that will just stop in and say hello,” said the toy shop owner. “They’ll be back in town visiting family. I just had a guy in the other day with his whole family out from California. They come back to visit their folks and part of that trip is to always come down here.”