GENESEO, Ill. — With holiday shopping underway, local stores in Geneseo are expecting good sales in the 2022 year despite inflation and competition from larger retailers.
Local businesses said they order product as early as January to ensure variety and stock is available for customers in the holiday rush.
"As much as we love to study numbers, it's always a guessing game what the hot ticket item will be this year," Amy DeFauw, owner of Katsch Boutique said. She added that less supply chain issues means they can keep better inventory this year.
Despite the careful planning, owners said a big advantage of small businesses is reaction time.
Small businesses can actually react so much quicker than a bigger business," Katie Kutsunis, president of Four Seasons said. "We feel we can identify a trend, react quickly and find the new merchandise that people are wanting."
Katie also said the in-person shopping experience is different than online retail, which allows them to remain competitive.
"Shopping in person is charming. It's intimate. It's fun, and we really try to provide that 'oh, I didn't know they had this!' moment so people feel like they've really uncovered something special in a small specialty store," she said.
Both owners expressed optimism over this year's sales and that despite the growing presence of major storefronts, small businesses are here to stay.
"We are always looking at market trends and trying to understand consumer behavior, but over 90% of business is still done with brick and mortar shops," Amy said. "We know that our customers love to come and look and try it on and have that experience. I don't think in person shopping will ever go away."
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