Local Merchants Report Solid ‘Black Friday’ Sales

Black Friday, the national kick-off to the holiday shopping season, was a huge success for several village retailers, and a steady stream of shoppers is fueling strong optimism among store owners.

For upscale women's boutique Pandemonium, the shopping wave hit big the day after Black Friday, when the five-year-old store experienced one of its best sales days in years, said owner Jacqueline DiDonato.

"It's [Saturday sales] on my top-10 list of best sales days in the five years we've been open," said DiDonato, who credited the surge in sales to a new small business American Express program that she promoted heavily days before Black Friday.

The AMEX program offers a $25 credit to cardholders spending $25 at a supporting small and local business. Cardholders must register their card at participating retailers. The program has been extended and now runs through December 31.

DiDonato began telling customers about the program 72 hours before Black Friday and marketed the program heavily with e-mail blasts and Facebook postings.

"People were really excited about it," she says, adding that this Friday's Old Fashioned Village Christmas, sponsored by the Babylon Village Chamber of Commerce, is typically one of her busiest days.

The chamber event features Santa visiting on a sleigh, holiday music and holiday treats at local merchants. The village is providing free metered parking during the holiday season with meters covered with holiday hoods.

"Every year we get a nice amount of new and longtime customers shopping on that day," DiDonato says. The store is offering its annual wide range of $10 teacher gifts and DiDonato has been able to boost inventory for this holiday season as sales have been healthier than last year.

"We've been trending up this year and so we're able to offer more merchandise. It's looking like a nice recovery," says DiDonato, whose store is known for having unique gifts as well as designer clothing and accessories.

Wally Levins, owner of Coastal Island Treasures, is also seeing the economic recovery in action. While he says customers who spent $100 last year are likely cutting back to $75, he still expects a steady and increasing stream of shoppers from this Friday night until Christmas Eve.

"When it comes to Black Friday, it's a different experience for us as stores are all different. In my mind I always give Black Friday to the big retailers and it's never been a blockbuster day, though I did better this year than in past year," he said.

"The Old Fashioned Village Christmas is our Black Friday in the village and I typically see increased shopping from that point. We're so busy on Christmas Eve that we're open to 9 p.m.  and typically the last store to shut off its lights," Levins added.

Village Art & Frame also had a very good Black Friday, said Jon Taylor, owner, and president of the village chamber organization.

"The weekend overall was encouraging and a definite improvement from last year," said Taylor, adding that traditionally the full swing season in Babylon Village kicks off with the chamber's Christmas event.

"We are very fortunate that Babylon Village has a unique flavor all its own that keeps shoppers coming to our business district," he added.

Over at Roomors, a home and gifts store, sales were up about 15 percent on Black Friday, and management attributed the increase to the American Express promotion as well.

"That really helped small business. We e-mailed our 2,000 customers and told them to register on Facebook for the program. We also ran in store promotions and discounts," said Danielle Sachi.

Roomors is offering Vera Bradley merchandise this year and will offer a 10 percent discount on the designer line this weekend.

The chamber shopping evening traditionally isn't a big sales night, but it lures in new customers, noted Sachi, and those customers typically return before Christmas to make purchases.

"Many times it's the first time they've been in the store so they're browsing and then they come back," she said.

Holiday season sales at Roomors, which is celebrating 30 years in business, have exceeded last year's figures. "This past Saturday was our best day of the month," Sachi noted.

Over at Plesser's Appliances & Electronics Black Friday was a big sales day and the wave continued through Cyber Monday, said owner Alan Howard.

"It was a great weekend, a good Friday and it was a very busy Monday as well," he explained, noting that appliance sales were as robust as electronics sales.