As a local music retailer, there are three major events Darnel “Mooch” Howell had circled on the calendar in 2023: tour stops for Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and the holiday season.
The store manager at DBS Sounds record shop in Riverdale says those are days where the shop sales are strong. During the holiday season in particular, the shop with its extensive collection of vinyl records and CDs sees upwards of three times its usual business, both online and in-person.
Since pandemic-related restrictions lifted, Howell has seen more overall foot traffic, too. He’s also noticed that those new collectors who were a part of vinyl’s pandemic boom are shopping with more intention this holiday season, fiscally speaking.
“I feel like people are a little bit more on the conscious side on what they’re spending,” Howell said. “I think they definitely have a budget in place.”
American consumer spending so far this holiday season has been strong, if not spectacular.
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal Constitution
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal Constitution
November’s retail sales — not counting vehicles and gasoline — were a solid 4.24% higher than the same month a year earlier, according to a report from the National Retail Federation.
November sales typically account for half the holiday season, said Matthew Shay, the group’s president. And the data, Shay said, “shows that consumers are embracing the holiday season and promotions being offered by retailers.”
The spirit of the season is what drove Pamela Tucker from her home in Decatur to Buckhead’s Lenox Square early Monday. Briskly making her way toward Macy’s, Tucker focused on closing out her shopping before she left. Gifts for her mom, dad, brother and other family members were all she needs to finish. She could do it online, but she said she likes coming in person because it’s what she did with her father growing up.
Tucker said she is glad to see more people out, shopping bags in hand. “This is what I’ve been doing for years,” she said. “I love Christmas. I wanted to just enjoy shopping and see what I could get, maybe some sales. If not, I’m still here for it.”
Surveys have consistently shown consumers concerned about the economy, but Wells Fargo economists suggest that the surveys are misleading.
“This divergence in what consumers ‘say’ versus what they actually do has been on full display this year,” they wrote in a recent newsletter. “While consumer sentiment has languished, consumer spending has pushed full steam ahead and supported broader economic growth.”
Shoppers spent more on Black Friday than expected, a record $9.8 billion, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks most online retailers. The increased totals were not because of inflation, according to Adobe’s Digital Price Index. The firm says that— other than groceries — product prices have mostly fallen for more than a year.
But inflation’s bite is uneven.
Items typically bought during the holiday season cost 20% more than three years ago, according to an analysis by Bankrate. Local shoppers say the chance to just visit a third space adorned with holiday decor is still worth experiencing.
“I was never over Christmas shopping,” said Mariel Reynolds. The southwest Atlanta native grew up shopping at Lenox Square in the 1990s. She and her father, Stanley Reynolds, were together to tie up loose ends on family shopping before the end-of-week rush.
“I love Christmas shopping,” she said. “This was my favorite time of year and with the pandemic, I didn’t do it for three years.”
A spokesperson for Simon Property Group, which owns Lenox Square, said the mall has seen strong crowds this year, mostly with customers wanting to get out of the house and back into experiences. Lenox recently hosted the Atlanta Ballet for an event. There was also a hot chocolate crawl.
Prior to her recent trip to Buckhead, Reynolds said most of her previous holiday spending was done online. The e-commerce shops have also been huge for local retailers.
Frank Reiss owns A Capella books in Inman Park, and says the in-person business is experiencing pre-pandemic levels of traffic during the holidays. Online sales saw a boost during COVID-19-related shut downs, and that trend has stayed strong in November and December.
“We still are doing more online than we used to do,” Reiss said. “I would say that for it being the holiday season, it’s been at least as good as it ever is, if not maybe a little bit better.”
Like Reiss, Howell says overall business at DBS this year has been stronger than in than the previous three years. But holiday shopping has dipped a bit for both online and retail. Howell says a big part of that is vinyl competition from Amazon and other larger online retailers. DBS is a part of the F.A.M.S. Coalition, a group of about 20 Black-owned local music shops nationwide trying to bringing awareness (and business) to their peers.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Then again, maybe it’s not that people are having a hard time finding the DBS’ of the world. They could be just starting on their shopping like Jacob Santacruz. The Hapeville resident was carrying four bags meandering through Lenox Square with his girlfriend, admittedly playing catch-up on shopping.
“I’m behind for sure, but you can’t trust delivery dates” he said. Plus, he says, malls and small shops are “more of a tradition than staying at home, and shopping online,” and he’s big on tradition.
Reiss said he hopes, however, customers find his shop before Christmas passes. They’ll be ready.
“It definitely feels like the holidays are here,” he said. “People now shop in various ways and we’re here to do it whichever way they prefer.”
