So how are things ? : small businesses vs the pandemic
Small Business Saturday is November 28th this year, and this year it will hold even more meaning than usual.
Small businesses around the entire globe shuddered when pandemic restrictions hit. What would happen if people can’t walk into the shop? Can we convert to online sales? How do we even do that? Will our employees feel safe coming back, if and when they can? How will we pay them? Will the government really come through with these grants? The list of concerns was and is nearly endless.
It’s fascinating and encouraging that online re-commerce - consignment, second-hand and vintage – are thriving during this time. Ravi Leveque, COO at The RealReal, reports the company is, “in a bright spot during these difficult times, engagement in the circular economy is high, specifically among brands and consigners.”
Even for stores like us, designer items were amongst the top sellers beginning in March when shelter at home orders were put in place. Of course comfortable pieces and loungewear saw a Spring surge that isn’t exactly typical, but even at Second Glance we saw items like Louis Vuitton purses, Kate Spade anything, and vintage Coach flying off the shelves.
These trends in our store and in larger resale retailers like The RealReal show that the pandemic shopper is looking for two things: quality and practicality.
For us, this is ideal. It’s what we strive for. We want to sell people clothes they will wear and that will last a long, long time.
Shopping resale is a big win for the planet and the consumer budget. We love the fact that higher-end brands generally make clothes to last, but we don’t have a ton of success with brands that don’t make great quality items because by the time they get to us, they are already too worn in appearance to re-sell. We aim to carry brands that we know and trust, brands that care about their impact on the planet too.
What a great outcome, that pandemic shopping trends have only served to push forward this sustainable way of shopping - revolving closets that are fashionable and forward-thinking when it comes to textile waste.
We couldn’t be happier to be a part of this and we have a huge thank you to say to you, the loyal customer, who has continued to shop with us online when we started to sell through social media and then came to pay us a visit in person when the doors were open again.
THANK YOU – keep up the good work and together all of us in our small downtown family can ride this wave, embrace the changes and move positive trends forward.