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!
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Made in Maplewood
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9 Highland Pl
Maplewood, NJ 07040
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65 Valley St
South Orange, NJ 07079
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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
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!
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.
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
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
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
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.
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.credit. That year it dipped slightly. But now it's in the national consciousness, so it's been up a little
every 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!
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