How WNY stores try to stand out at the holidays

“We’re old school,” said Kellie Klos, an owner at the toy store.

At this time of year, that old-school magic is just what many shoppers are looking for. Missing the familiar touch and feel of holiday shopping during the pre-internet years, Clayton’s shoppers return to the toy store generation after generation.

Independent retailers, like Clayton’s, are hoping their personal touch and community spirit will draw shoppers away from big-box stores and online shopping this holiday season.

Locally owned stores are pulling out all the stops to attract customers who may otherwise be lured in by the convenience of major retailers and online shopping.

From festive in-store events to personalized service and curated gift options, these small businesses are counting on community loyalty and the appeal of unique shopping experiences to help them succeed at a most critical time of year.

Despite economic challenges, local retailers believe their distinctive offerings and connection to the community can drive a successful season in an increasingly competitive market.

Some consumers seek them out as part of a conscious mission to support mom-and-pop shops.

“Especially since Covid, I’ve heard from people who say they’re really trying to support their local stores,” Klos said.

But many are simply looking for high-quality gifts to give their loved ones during the holidays and know they can count on a store that has stood the test of time for more than a century.

“I can’t tell you how many times people come in in December and say, ‘I just got my Amazon order and it was not at all what I was expecting,’” Klos said.

That doesn’t mean the store rests on its laurels. It runs promotions, radio advertising and cross-promotions with charities that provide toys for children in need. It also focuses on its finer touches – like drawing on its deep product knowledge to help shoppers find the right gifts, personalized customer service and free gift wrapping.

Those finer touches extend to its hiring of seasonal help as well. Challenged with bringing new workers in and getting them up to speed quickly, the first task for every new employee is to go through the store with a pad and pick out an appropriate toy for every age group and each gender.

“That really helps them get an idea of where everything is and it helps when it’s time to make gift suggestions,” Klos said.

National retailers have gotten away from pulling shoppers into stores on Black Friday, making in-store promotions available online early and doing away with in-person-only doorbusters.

But Black Friday is still very much a thing at the region’s three Totally Buffalo stores in Amherst, Lewiston and Orchard Park.

“Black Friday is huge,” said Mary Friona-Celani, Totally Buffalo owner.

Last year, Totally Buffalo opened early and offered the popular Buffalo Bills Zubaz pants at cost, which brought customers flocking.

“People were so happy about that,” she said. “There was a line out the door when we opened.”

The store has a combination business model, where it sells its own lines but also sells merchandise made by local artisans on consignment.

“By far, the last quarter of the year is our best quarter,” Friona-Celani said.

But planning for inventory that time of year is no simple task. It’s important to make sure there is enough inventory to serve customers, but not so much leftover that the store is stuck selling items at slashed clearance pricing.

“You have to have enough. Nothing frustrates a customer more than not having your size or not having the item that they really want,” she said. “So I always order probably more than I need. But I’m lucky, because it’s not stuff that’s going to go bad. [Buffalo Bills merchandise] carries over into January for playoffs as well. So we’re lucky in that way.”

Friona-Celani said, “Anything with a buffalo on it,” is a big seller. Also popular are jewelry, candles and accessories.

“And what’s really, really big for us right now is kids and baby items,” she said. “People will definitely spend the money to put Bills items on their little ones. A lot of schools have Bills Day and Victory Bills Day. You can’t wear the same thing all the time.”

Totally Buffalo cross-promotes with charities for a toy drive, offers discounts, giveaways and events, such as its “Very Buffalo Christmas” shop local event, which highlights its makers by hosting seller artisans at each of its stores to meet and greet customers.

“We’re going to have an artisan throughout the day at each store to talk about their products, to highlight them, to help with their sales,” Friona-Celani said. “And then the customer gets to meet them, too. So it’s kind of a win-win.”

At Vidler’s in East Aurora, co-owner Don Vidler mixes old and new when marketing the Main Street store.

Again this year, Vidler’s will join forces with local resident David Howes to put his personal collection of memorabilia from the movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” on display in the five-and-dime’s windows. It does cross-promotion with the local Chamber of Commerce, its traditional Carolcade festival of Christmas caroling and with nearby brewery 42 North.

“Or the husband’s day care center, as we call it, yards away from us,” Vidler said.

In addition to traditional marketing efforts, including television advertising, Don Vidler manages the store’s social media pages. Vidler’s has 27,000 followers on Facebook.

“If I put something out there, like ‘Candy canes are on sale this week for 99 cents.’ If I got a dozen looks, that’s a lot,” Vidler said. “If I did some silly video of candy canes breaking or me falling over one, that would get thousands. That’s what it is, on social media people want to be entertained. But yeah, that’s important for us.”

The store gave up on e-commerce because it wasn’t cost-effective, but it will do mail orders if someone calls the store.

Inflation has affected costs, but some customers take it better than others.

“Some people come in our store and walk down the aisle and say we have really good prices, and they’re better than the big-box stores. Another person walks down the aisle and says, “This is ridiculously expensive,’” Vidler said. “In terms of the supply chain, our prices have gone up. I don’t think there’s any denying that.”

But a worse problem is that some of the store’s suppliers have gone out of business since the Covid-19 pandemic. The new, bigger suppliers favor national retailers with deeper pockets, making it difficult for mom-and-pop shops to compete.

“A lot of smaller guys have gone out, and some of the bigger guys increased their minimums,” Vidler said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the so-called economies of scale. So I can’t buy 12,000 of something.”

Vidler’s has strong support from generations of customers.

“A lot of people make an effort. I just waited on some people last week, they bought about $400 of stuff, and they said they do all their Christmas shopping at our store,” Vidler said. “They wanted to support the small guys. So that was great. And we’ll hear more stories like that as we get closer to the holidays.”