Small shops are doing what they can to keep customers in the door

Christmas is right around the corner and people are out shopping for the perfect gift

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- Christmas is right around the corner and people are out shopping for the perfect gift. Several people go to the larger named stores around them, but there are small shops that thrive off that business.

It may not be the big retail store with flashy signs, but it gets the job done. Park Place in Columbus serves dozens on a weekly basis; this holiday season, they’re keeping up with the competition.

“I think one of our biggest challenges this year has been logistics; just trying to get everything shipped in and keep a full store so that we can offer a wide variety of selections just like the larger stores can,” said store owner Gail Stevens.

Stevens said it’s like a roller coaster; one minute things are up and the next they’re down.  She and her team decided to branch out a little.

“We do have a larger online presence. We do a lot on social media Facebook, Instagram, and we have our online store,” said Stevens.

Traditional shopping was paused in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Online sales really helped many small shops..

Some local stores like Park Place are typically closed on Sunday, but the Columbus Christmas parade contributed to opening their doors on Sunday, December 5, 2021.  Stevens said they’re not the only ones doing that this month.

“Several of the downtown stores do open on Sundays in December. Most of them I think 1 until 4 and so we’ll be open every Sunday in December and so will a lot of our neighbor businesses,” said Stevens.

You can find a pop up shops in several towns. Over the years; Stevens has learned there’s strength in numbers.

“I think the biggest thing is to all kind of stick together. When we do things as a group downtown especially I’ve seen we all reap the rewards of it you know. The more you offer downtown the more people will come downtown,” said Stevens.

Stevens encouraged people to shop local, and not just for the holiday season.