Retail sales holding steady

With a large focus of the Christmas season towards retail, the Christmas creep continues to emerge earlier every year. Stores are starting to have Christmas merchandise displays as soon as Halloween.

Consumers are divided on getting Christmas shopping done early or waiting until December. Some clearly have a bah humbugian attitude while others display an ambitious desire to be the early shopper.

Many consumers blame the retailers for the ever expanding holiday creep, but in truth, it is due to the retailers responding to the drive of the consumer. Much of this may be a result of the instant gratification movement, the "I want what I want when I want it" generation, a term coined by psychologist Kit Yarrow in her book "Decoding the New Consumer Mind: How and Why We Shop and Buy" about catering to our technology-addled brains.

In a small town like Thermopolis, what does the Christmas season mean to local retailers? Has the small community of Thermopolis caught up with the technological and instant gratification of the current generation? The short answer is the retailers are doing the best they can. "The Amazons of the world are hard on retailers," said Dan Herdt of Owl Creek Graphics.

Owl Creek Graphics does custom embroidery and screen printing. When asked how they felt about the holiday shopping season and how it was going so far, Herdt responded with saying the store is doing okay and they are getting a lot of Christmas shoppers. Herdt feels it has been the slow reduction of the oil field business this year that has put a hurt on big orders. The store has been doing a lot more small orders instead of the usual big ones normally coming in this time of year. When asked how a small business can fight the Amazons of the world, Herdt said he remains cautiously optimistic because of the need for quality customer service a local small business can provide.

New business owner Susan Turnbull of Gooseberry Gardens Quilt Shop said she would like to see it busier, but is happy because it is not as flat as it could be. As a new business, Turnbull is adjusting to the needs of the local customers. When asked about the slow in the economy and if she was worried, Turnbull said " I live worried," explaining she has never done something like this before.

Many of the downtown retailers are seeing the effects of Wyoming's oil and gas market that is suffering from low prices. With a whisper on the street about things getting tight, many retailers are standing their ground and adjusting to the oncoming lull.

Tom Butler of Flying Eagle Gallery said "Local retailers tend to count on this season to take them through the next couple of months; it is going to be tough." He said the Christmas season has been a struggle, which is not uncommon in a small town, but being proactive and having a long term vision will help.

"People are trying hard to shop locally," said Lisa Shaffer of Needful Things. She believes the recent snow fall has kept foot traffic lower than usual. But events like 21 Days of Christmas have helped bring in customers. Shaffer said there needs to be more unity within the Thermopolis retail community.

Many other downtown stores said there are more out-of-town shoppers that have been frequenting the local shops. Cody, Worland Lander and Riverton customers are traveling to shop Thermopolis; many stating Thermopolis has really nice shops downtown and fun things to do.

Owners of downtown anchors like Natures Corner and Storyteller said they are doing well this season. Ellen Reed of Storyteller said business is up 10 percent from last year. Thomas said the Chamber does a lot for the local businesses here. Sarah Ferrell of Natures Corner said local people are wanting to shop locally, "Christmas week will probably be the best week we will have," stated Ferrell.

The Christmas creep has not strongly influenced Thermopolis small businesses just yet; this may be reflection of a small town way of life. Things are known for moving at a slower pace in a small town, unfortunately that comes with a small town economy. Even though many local businesses participate in things like Black Friday and Small Business Saturday it is hard for them to see the numbers big stores get.

Many of the local retailers have had to diversify their shops and take on different types of wares to keep their doors open. Others say they are doing just fine as they are. Overall, they are fighting the good fight to keep local small businesses open and bring customer satisfaction to all shoppers. Retailers say events like the ArtStroll and chamber projects have helped but there still needs to be more downtown activities.

Most local retailers seem satisfied with their holiday shopping numbers as Thermopolis businesses adapt and become part of the instant gratification world so quickly developing.