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11/19/18

SOMA Shops Prep for Small Business Saturday


As we gear up for a weekend of sales I thought it would be fun to chat with some other local shop owners in SOMA (South Orange/Maplewood, NJ) and see what they're doing to prep for Small Business Saturday!


Made in Maplewood
9 Highland Pl
Maplewood, NJ 07040
65 Valley St
South Orange, NJ 07079


Q: How much does your business increase during Small Business Saturday?

A: Erin’s Faces: We do about a week’s worth of sales on Small Business Saturday itself and a
month's worth Black Friday - Cyber Monday - it's nuts in the loveliest way possible!
A: Perch Home: On the actual day itself our business does 400% more than an average Saturday!  
It has consistently been one of our top 3 days of the year since its inception.
A: Sadies: We do about 2x’s the volume of a regular holiday season Saturday - it is usually the same
volume as the Saturday before Christmas

Q: How do you get ready for Small Business Saturday?

A: Perch Home: We prep for Small Business Saturday by reminding our customers why shopping
locally matters to their community and highlighting how the experience of shopping in person can be
superior to shopping online.  We create an event, send out save the dates and promote it on social
media. SBS is a fun day filled with customer perks, trunk shows, excellent customer service, unique
merchandise, and compelling reasons for them to return during the holiday shopping season.  We
host give-aways, and have gifts for all of our customers!
A: Sadie’s: Hire extra staff, ensure product levels are at their highest to kick off the season.
Order supplies like bags/ tissue/ gift wrapping/ receipt paper- all the basics - Re-merchandise to focus on gift items
A: Erin’s Faces: It's by far our busiest time of year, but it's also my favorite because we get to
empower and educate so many people about the benefits of green beauty!  We spend the entire
month of November preparing for the weekend - making sure we have components, labels and
everything that goes inside so our shelves are overflowing.  They quickly get emptied over the
weekend!

Q: What is your top seller during Small Business Saturday?

A: Sadie’s: A lot of gift items that are small stocking stuffers and men’s graphic tees
A: Erin’s Faces: We have a lot of gift sets and stocking stuffers that get snapped up quickly.  
Our seasonal scents of Peppermint and Valencia Orange are also big sellers as we have them
available in Aromatherapy Sprays, Soaps, Body Scrubs/Butters, Lip Scrubs and Lip Balms.  
We’re excited to have our new Lumberjack body care line that’s for men.
A: Perch Home: We sell a lot of holiday decor and that is the top seller that day.  Most people are

ready to start decorating that weekend after Thanksgiving.  They also are scouting for potential gifts,
so we set up customer wish lists.  If we have a local maker or trunk show, their items will also be one
of the best sellers since people like connecting a person or a story with a product.


Q: What are the deals you will be offering this year and what days do you offer them on?

A: Erin’s Faces: 20% off - Because we’re a small business we do one sale during the year and we
love giving that discount to our customers on Small Business Saturday.
A: Perch Home: We try to focus less on "deals" and more on customer service.  With that said, we
will being having several gifts with purchase and some wonderful discounts on our most popular gifts!  
We like to announce the details & specifics on Thanksgiving, to make the excitement of the day more
imminent. And we always have a gift for our customers on SBS!
A: Sadie’s: Gift with purchase for the first 50 customers and everyone will get a $5 off your next
purchase coupon

Q: What is the main challenge of the day?

A: Perch Home: Our retail space is compact and the sheer number of people coming through the
doors can be overwhelming.  I worry that if it is a customer's first time visiting the shop, they might not
have the ideal experience.  Sometimes I wish the event could be spread out a little! This year we are
trying to speed things up by offer a second check out for customers who do not need their gifts
wrapped.
A: Sadie’s: Small space of the store for the amount of people who come in shopping
A: Erin’s Faces: As an online business it’s important to us that all of our orders are fulfilled in a timely
manner

Q: What does the weekend after Thanksgiving look like for you?

A: Sadie’s: Black Friday sees a small increase then Saturday and Sunday become the 2nd highest
volume weekend to the weekend before Christmas
A: Erin’s Faces: We do a month’s worth of sales from Black Friday-Cyber Monday - it’s all hands on
deck the entire weekend and the entire week after.
A: Perch Home: Black Friday can be a little quiet since our customers are saving their visit for SBS.  

However, we usually do some sort of promotion to draw in shoppers who are visiting for the holiday
weekend.  I can't compete with the box stores in terms of Black Friday discounts, but I can offer a
lovely respite from the mall! So we do in-store flash sales, serve up some sort of food and beverage
treat and prep for SBS.  SBS is madness from beginning to end. Sunday tends to be busy too...
customers who couldn't make it in on SBS will stop by as a show of support.

Q: What are your hours like?

A: Erin’s Faces: I’m working all day, morning til night, for about 10 days and my staff is here every
day as well.  
A: Perch Home: We extend hours that weekend a bit.  Friday & Saturday hours are 9:00 AM to
8:00 PM.  Sundays are 10 AM to 6 PM. Basically we extend the day an hour in the AM and an hour in
the PM.
A: Sadie’s: 9a-8p Friday and Saturday.10-5 Sunday


Q: Have you seen growth year over year?

A: Perch Home: We have seen growth every year, except the year after AMEX pulled its promotional
credit.  That year it dipped slightly. But now it's in the national consciousness, so it's been up a little
every year.
A: Sadie’s: It is pretty steady year to year at the old store - hoping to see an increase for the 2nd store that opened in November last year.
A: Erin’s Faces: Yes - we’ve been up over 60% each year for the past three years during the Thanksgiving weekend.

Shop local folks!

11/14/18

Green Beauty Holiday Gift Guide 2018

Y'all - we have so much new stuff I can hardly keep it together I'm so excited, so let's just dive in!


Kiss dreary winter weather goodbye with a fresh citrus kick from our Valencia Orange Set ($35) which is full of Vitamin C and Sweet Orange Essential Oil.  We've got our Valencia Orange Body Butter, Handcrafted Soap, Sugar Lip Scrub and Organic Lip Balm in one happy set. 


If running around in fields of lavender is your bag (who doesn't want to do that?!?) then the new Lavender Goodies ($35) is perfect for you.  Wash up with our Lavender Castile Body Wash or Handcrafted Soap and freshen your rooms/pillows with our Aromatherapy Spray.  All lavender fragrance comes from essential oil, no synthetic fragrance here kids.


Our new Handcrafted Soaps ($8) are great to have on hand for your own tub time or to give as hostess gifts and stocking stuffers for the holidays (they also double as shave bars!).  We've got:
Peppermint - made with Organic Peppermint leaves
Lavender - made with Lavender Oil
Lumberjack - made with Sage, Lemongrass & Spearmint
Valencia Orange - made with Organic Orange Peel


Need a present for the guy in your life?  Whether it's your dad, brother or your husband the new Lumberjack Gift Set ($25) has everything they probably are willing to use :) - body wash and bar soap that we add Sage, Eucalyptus and Spearmint essential oils to and a lip balm (flavored with Organic Peppermint)


A fan favorite, our Mineral Lip Gloss & Shimmer Holiday Set has our Sunnyside gloss (a sheer wash of pinky peach shimmer that seriously looks good on everyone on the planet), your choice of Fairy Dust or Magic Dust which is ideal for a highlight, again on all skintypes!, and a roomy makeup bag.


Back to newness!  Our new Skincare Sets ($120) allow you to have TSA-friendly sized bottles in our roomy Logo Makeup Bag so you can have your fave items with you wherever you go.  We've got one for each skintype:
  • Normal/Combo (shown) - Soothing Aloe Cleanser, Rose Quench Serum, Silk Cream, Pumpkin Enzyme Peel Mini 
  • Oily/Breakout-Prone - Clarifying Charcoal Cleanser, Clarifying Serum, Tamanu Oil, Clarifying Green Clay Mask Mini
  • Dry - Gentle Milk Cleanser, Firming Serum, Extreme Moisture Balm, Antioxidant Facial Polish Mini




All three of our top-selling Fair Trade Tinted Lip Balms in one set ($17.50) - a color for every mood:
Blushed - sheer pink quartz
Flushed - strawberry pinky red
Crushed - blackberry sheer plum


Winterfresh takes on a whole new meaning with our new Peppermint Gift Set ($35).  Crisp Peppermint Essential Oil scents our Peppermint Sugar Body Scrub, Handcrafted Soap, Sugar Lip Scrub and Organic Lip Balm


Perfect for everyone on your list these body scrub/body butter duos ($25) leave your skin exfoliated, smelling delightful and feeling super hydrated.  We've got:


Yummy smells for the whole house!  These Aromatherapy Spray Sets ($18) use an Organic Aloe Juice base that we pop essential oils into for freshening up of rooms, linens, clothes, cars and even you as they're safe to use on your body.  We have two sets:
Holiday - Forest Crunch (pine), Orange Clove & Cinnamon
Classic - Peppermint, Grapefruit & Lavender


Another newbie this year, we're combo'ing our Mason Jar Soy/Beeswax Candles with our Aromatherapy Spray in our Winter Scents Gift Set ($35).  You've got your choice of evergreen in Forest Crunch (fresh) or pomander with Orange Clove (citrus and spice).  


Get those lips mistletoe ready with our, you guessed it!, new Sugar Lips Set ($16) which combos our Sugar Lip Scrub to buff dead skin away (it tastes awesome too!) with our Organic Lip Balm to hydrate and soothe chapped smoochers.  Great for guys or gals.